She's not Kuina
by elovejapan
Summary: When Zoro is still on Kuraigana Island, a mysterious lady swordsman shows up bringing along Smoker and Tashigi, claiming that she has taken Tashigi on as an apprentice and she brought Tashigi to train against Zoro. Will Zoro get over her similar appearance to Kuina? And will Tashigi realize he's not that sexist? Possible Zoro/Tashigi and Mihawk/OC pairings.
1. Ch 1: A beautiful lady swordsman & meat

**Author's note:** I totally ship Tashigi and Zoro, but it drives me nuts that even though she got stronger after the time skip, she's still far below Zoro's level. When Oda introduces someone like that, who desperately wants to prove herself as strong in spite of being a woman, you'd think she'd get much stronger than she is now.

Strength aside though, I personally think that if Tashigi and Zoro had a positive relationship, it would have to include them having mutual respect for each other's skills- in that Zoro acknowledges that Tashigi is capable of handing herself and not a weakling damsel in distress. Tashigi is prideful enough that she wouldn't take it if Zoro disrespected her like that. I'm certain that she already has respect for Zoro's skills, and Zoro might have a little bit of respect for her after Punk Hazard, if you squint really hard. Also, according to the Wiki, Zoro does not seem to be as concerned with her appearance (probably because it's changed) and (in my opinion) seems to respect her more as herself now. However, I wanted to address this before her appearance changed.

In any case, this fic is definitely sort of AU, not only because Tashigi probably didn't see Zoro on Mihawk's island, but also because, I'm quite certain, the kind of master that she had (who I made up here) would probably have made her much stronger than she is in Punk Hazard.

By the way, Mihawk may probably seem kind of OOC in this. Sorry!

I do not own not own One Piece; Oda does. Only Erika is my character.

* * *

She's not Kuina

Chapter One

A Beautiful Lady Swordsman with Meat

"Roronoa," said a commanding voice.

Zoro stopped his kata for a moment and turned. He'd been practicing his kata right outside the castle as post-breakfast warm-up. He moved his eyes upward to look at his master, Dracule Mihawk, who was coming up from behind.

"How many kata was that?" he asked.

"I think around one thousand so far," Zoro replied, taking advantage of the moment to scratch his head.

"Do another two thousand. I'm off to get more wine. When I'm back, we'll do some sparring-"

A dark shape hurtled out of the island's everlasting fog and slammed against the castle wall, hard enough to crack it. Afterwards it crashed to the ground. When the dust settled, it was revealed to be a giant mandrill wearing armor.

"Gyaaaaaah!" screamed Perona. She'd been sitting outside drinking tea and keeping an eye on Zoro make sure he didn't overdo it…well, any more than he usually does, and was sitting quite close to the spot where the giant mandrill fell. "Where did that come from?"

"The Humandrills must be fighting each other," surmised Zoro. Due to mimicking humans fighting with weapons, the Humandrills were very strong, and, as Zoro himself could testify, were hard to go toe-to-toe with in a fight. For all he knew, only he, Mihawk and Perona were on the island, and few people ever came here.

"No, they usually aren't so close to castle when they do that," countered Mihawk, his ever-present frown deepening.

Perona tried to hide a grin. _Because they know that he doesn't like to be disturbed._

Mihawk's unnerving yellow eyes narrowed. "Be quiet," he ordered the other two, unsheathing the massive cross-shaped sword on his back. Zoro's eyebrows rose in surprise, and held his sword before him, alert. Mihawk was never this serious, even when sparring with him… although, that was understandable, considering that he was in no way close to Mihawk's caliber.

"Sorry about that," called out a female voice in the fog. Zoro could only make out the shape of a slim figure coming through. Behind, he could see a larger, less distinct shape.

He opened his mouth to give a warning, but Mihawk held his hand up, covering his mouth. "There's no need. She does not need your help."

The words were barely out of his mouth when another Humandrill came flying out of nowhere to smash into the castle in the same place. From there, the Humandrill fell on top his fallen brother.

"Sorry," repeated the voice, "But honestly, Mihawk, why did you have these monkeys around? They'll scare away visitors!"

"That's the point."

The fog cleared a little to divulge a tall, lean woman with a long black braid sprouting from the back of her head, at the top of it. She wore a plain, long-sleeved white shirt with slightly baggy sleeves and white pants that were slightly baggy at her calves, and black boots with short tops. She had black, confident, yet stern eyes, and a tanned, almond-shaped face. On either hip rested a katana in a white sheath.

"Hmph. If it isn't Erika," said Mihawk. He did not lower his sword. Zoro almost frowned; did he just hear something of a smile creep into Mihawk's voice? "I was wondering where you've been after all these years."

"'All these years?' It's only been two since our last fight," the woman retorted. She closed her eyes halfway and gave him a cocky smirk. "What, did you miss me?" she asked almost mockingly.

Zoro's eyes widened. What was this woman doing, talking to Mihawk in such a provocative way?

"It's hard to find a good opponent these days, ever since that Shanks lost his arm," Mihawk replied, sounding… almost wistful.

"I see. Well, I feel for you, but I have better things to do than to fulfill your wish for a good fight," said the woman.

To Zoro's surprise, once again, Mihawk let out a choked laugh, then burst out laughing. "Of course! I'm not surprised; you never fight without a good reason," he replied when he settled down. He became serious again. "What sort of business would you have here? You left the Marines five years ago."

"Wh-" Zoro tried not to show his surprise. "She's from the _Marines_?"

"I _was_ ," the woman corrected, giving him a glance. She raised an eyebrow, and returning her gaze to Mihawk, she said, "Well well, Mihawk, and what have you here? Roronoa Zoro, one of the missing Straw Hat crew."

"You knew he was here already," Mihawk replied. It was a statement, not a question. "Roronoa, this is Erika of the Star Blades. She's one of the best swordsmen the Marines have ever produced, but right now she's a bounty hunter. I consider her to second best to me."

The woman glared at him. "There you go, ranking again."

Zoro was torn how to react. Of course he'd heard of Erika of the Starblades, a well-known and distinguished swordsman, but he was shocked that Mihawk praised her so highly. He learned quickly during the first few weeks of his training with Mihawk that the stern man did not give praise easily.

He also knew that as a Marine she was posted in the West Blue, and although he heard she'd left the Marines, he hadn't heard of her whereabouts and assumed that she must still be in the West Blue. Hearing that she became a bounty hunter was news to him though; and considering that the Marines were probably still on the lookout for him, he put up his guard.

Mihawk seemed be thinking along the same lines as Zoro. "I suppose you came for Roronoa's head."

She shook her head. "No. Well, yes, in a way, but not in the way you think." Before either man could say anything, she turned and called, "Hey you two! Don't hang back there unless you want to get eaten by the monkeys! Come out here and introduce yourselves!"

Two more figures behind her hesitantly stepped out of the fog, and Zoro nearly dropped his sword.

"You-you…" he stammered.

Staring back at him in surprise, while clutching her precious _Shigure_ , was Tashigi, that blasted Kuina look-a-like from the Marines, with her short blue-black hair hanging just like Kuina's and wearing her rectangular glasses. She wore a purple jacket like the one she wore in Alabasta, along with black slacks and shoes, as usual. She was trembling- though in fear or excitement in meeting "Hawk-eyes" Mihawk, the Greatest Swordsman in the World, or in rage towards him, Zoro wasn't sure.

Beside her stood her superior officer, Captain Smoker, who, per usual, had two cigars in his mouth and wore his tattered grey jacket. He seemed as tense as ever.

"Mihawk, this is Commodore Smoker and his subordinate, Lieutenant Tashigi. You might remember them from the battle at Marineford."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. So, those two had been promoted.

"I do remember Commodore Smoker, but I do not remember her," said Mihawk bluntly. Tashigi blushed in embarrassment. Zoro was not surprised- Mihawk was the type of man who only remembered anyone who he saw as strong enough to be worthy of his attention. "Why did you bring them here? You know I hate company."

"Mmm-hmmm," Erika responded, glancing at Zoro and Perona. "Training."

"Training?"

"Yes. You see, after Marineford, Smoker hunted me down and asked me to train Tashigi. I agreed and started her training a couple of months ago. She's been doing well but- come now, why don't you put your sword away? Let's talk in private."

Mihawk gave her a long, studious look, and then, without taking his eyes off of her, slid his sword back in place on his back, then turned and walked some way away from the others. Erika nodded and grinned, and she turned to follow him. "Why don't you two chat?" she suggested, turning to look back at Zoro and Tashigi. "I'm sure you have some things to catch up on."

"Don't act like we're friends!" Tashigi and Zoro snapped in unison.

Erika simply laughed, waved a hand, then walked over to Mihawk and pulled him further to the side.

Both Zoro and Tashigi stared. Finally Zoro said, "Mihawk never lets anyone touch him. Are those two-"

"No way!" exclaimed Tashigi, trembling with fury at the insinuation. "She's a Marine!"

"She _was_ in the Marines," Zoro corrected. "She's a bounty hunter now."

"That still doesn't make sense!" insisted Tashigi.

"Yeah, you're right." For the sake of having something to do, he unsheathed the sword he was holding and inspected it. "I've heard that those two have crossed swords before, but this… I guess they respect each other a great deal."

"You think?"

Zoro could tell what she was thinking- that perhaps Mihawk acted like this because he was a man and Erika was a woman. He rolled his eyes. "He's much more condescending towards Perona," he said, jabbing his finger towards the pink-haired girl. "The way he talks to this woman though- I'd say they're like equals."

Tashigi gasped. "'Ghost-Princess' Perona is here too? Smoker-san-"

"Hold on a minute," said Erika, stopping her personal chat with Mihawk and stepping over. "Let me make this clear to you, Tashigi. You too, Smoker. We are here strictly on training business, not to capture Roronoa or Perona here. You both know that the Marines are not supposed to mess with the Shichibukai's crews. Currently, those two are part of Mihawk's crew. Do not try anything funny with them."

"That's crap!" protested Tashigi. "Everyone knows that Zoro is part of the Straw Hat crew, and Perona is part of Moriah's crew! Furthermore, Mihawk does not even _have_ a crew!"

"Yes, but right now they're his _temporary_ crew," Erika insisted. "Isn't that so, Mihawk?" she asked, glancing back at him. Mihawk slid his sharp yellow eyes over to Zoro, where they rested on him for a moment, then over to Perona. Both felt somewhat uncomfortable. Then he gave an almost imperceptible nod, which was enough for Smoker to catch. He grunted in acknowledgement. It was good enough for him.

"In any case, I highly doubt he'll be happy if we tried to mess with them." Erika said. "So, no arresting anyone."

Tashigi opened her mouth to protest, but Smoker said, "Tashigi, let it be. She's right; if Mihawk considers them his subordinates, we can't do anything. We're not here to do that anyway."

Tashigi groaned and stomped over him. "But, Smoker-san-!"

"She seems a little childish," Mihawk muttered to Erika out of earshot of Zoro and Tashigi. "Are you sure about taking her on?"

"She's got guts and potential, and I want to see how far she can get through good training," Erika replied, turning back towards him to resume their private conversation. "However, she has her own problems. As a woman in the Marines, she has a complex about whether the other men see her as weak, simply due to her gender. She feels that she struggles to get respect, and even wishes that she was born a man. That's no good. She won't advance in the marines or in her training if she continues to think like that. As a Marine, she's got more important things to worry about than respect or her gender."

"If the men don't respect her, they won't follow her," Mihawk pointed out.

"True, but if she works hard and proves herself capable, it's enough," Erika told him. "At the end of the day, all swordsmen have their pride and wish for respect as swordsmen, but the only ones who have the luxury of worrying about either exclusively are the lone, unattached ones. Like you and me." She grinned.

Mihawk folded his arms. "If that's her problem, then why bring her all the way out here?"

"She's fought with him before. He bested her easily, but not only did he not kill her, he didn't even hurt her. She was pretty insulted by it and thought that he didn't fight her seriously because she's a woman."

Mihawk frowned. "If he really does think like that, the New World will eat him alive. There are plenty of strong women over there."

"Exactly. But I think that he has more of a weakness for her than for women in general. Tashigi also told me that he told her that she looks like a dead friend of his, and I guess that's why he spared her. So you see, that woman is his weakness. If he can't get over it, he'll have trouble if he meets a strong opponent with his dead friend's face. The same goes if his enemies learn about it and try to take advantage of it."

"Why are you telling me this? That boy wants to kill me one day."

Erika snorted. "As if you would be so low as to use that kind of weakness against him," she retorted.

Mihawk shrugged. _She knows me too well_.

"It still does not explain how it would benefit your student."

"He is an enemy, and has no reason to hold back against her. I could try and train that complex out of her by pitting against the stronger swordsmen in the Marines, but if she thinks that they are holding back because of her status, or because of her gender, or because she is a fellow Marine, she would not take any victory she makes to heart. I could pit her against other pirates, but I know that there are some who would not take her seriously because she is a woman or who would not want to fight her because she is a woman. If Zoro does not think like that, and if we get that complex about her similar appearance to his friend out of the way, she may have an opponent against whom she can truly measure herself."

Mihawk sighed. "You keep talking about those complexes as if they're so easy to get rid of. They're not, you know."

"I know. But it might be easier to solve his than to solve hers- at least in relation to her, anyway. What he needs to is realize that she is not that other woman, and fight Tashigi as Tashigi. And I have a few plans as to how to solve that. All in all, we shouldn't be here for more than two weeks. I'm betting it'll be much less though."

"Do you seriously believe I'd let you stay here so that your student can solve her problems?" demanded Mihawk, unsheathing his sword. Erika took a few steps back, far enough that when he lifted his sword and pointed it at her, it nearly touched her neck. "Such a woman is hardly worth my time or Roronoa's, no matter whether she is his weakness or not. Tell me, why would I find this worth my time?"

Erika sighed. Then her black eyes stared hard into his yellow ones, with a confident smile on her face, as if the long black sword pointed at her neck didn't exist. "We'll have another match once this is all over."

Zoro and Tashigi, who were paying attention to the conversation once Mihawk took his sword out, both exclaimed, " _What?!"_

"Hm. You're willing to go that far?" Mihawk asked.

Erika said nothing. She continued to stare into his yellow eyes.

"Interesting. Perhaps this would be more worthwhile than I thought, if you're that serious." He re-sheathed his sword, and the tense atmosphere that had built up when he removed it finally dissapated.

"Good. I thought you would like that. By the way-" she bent down to slide a backpack off her back, then opened it and rummaged around, eventually taking out a wine bottle. "I ran into Shanks at some point before Smoker caught up to me. He said to give you this." She handed it to him.

Mihawk took it and glanced over the label. "That carefree fool," he sighed. "I can never understand him. Speaking of which-." He turned to the woman. "What were you doing, being on such friendly terms with Shanks? You're a bounty hunter, aren't you?"

The woman chuckled. "Unlike you, he has a crew, and since I'm not really in it for big money, I don't care to risk my life having an angry crew come after me. Besides, he's not a bad man." She brought out some other packages. "I brought some steaks too. Good thing I decided to bring extra; I didn't know that girl was here."

"Now that's a surprise. You usually know everything."

"That explains why you never asked how I knew Zoro was here."

"I've long learned that it's more pointless to ask whether you know something rather than whether you don't know something. What do you plan to do first?"

Erika grinned. "First things first. I want to duel with him, and see whether he's as much a softie towards women as Tashigi claims."

* * *

 **Author's note: About the chapter title** \- well, what can I say? Based on one of my favorite lines from the series. Please read and review!

 **Author's note:** Polyamory pointed out that Mihawk is kind of OOC, and while I do plan to make him like that around Erika, his dialogue in and behavior in general did not sound like him, so I tried to change that a bit. Please tell me if you think I captured him better here, and please give suggestions on improvement. Thanks, Polyamory!

 **Update:** I realized I got Smoker's rank wrong; by the Marineford Arc Smoker is a Commodore. Since his rank is two ranks below Vice -Admiral, I thought he might take more time to work his way up to those higher ranks. In the space of two years, though, Tashigi makes a huge leap from Ensign to Captain, which are five ranks apart, so I thought I would bring up Tashigi's rank a few notches.


	2. Chapter 2: Duel

Disclaimer: I do not own one Piece or its characters; Eiichiro Oda does.

* * *

Chapter 2: Duel

"Roronoa." Zoro looked up when he heard his name, and saw his two other swords hurtling towards him. He caught them deftly, then turned to Mihawk, who had called out his name.

"Erika said that she wants to duel with you," Mihawk told him.

"Huh?" Zoro found it hard to process that statement.

"Don't make me repeat myself, boy. She wants to duel with you."

"What?" Realizing that he sounded completely surprised, Zoro wiped his look of shock off his face and tried to replace it with a confident grin. "Heh. I thought you were going to fight her."

"We will, once she finishes her business here. She came here because she wants you to train with her apprentice, but first she wants to evaluate your skills." Mihawk uncorked a wine bottle he was holding, took a wine glass that seemed to come out of nowhere, and poured himself a glass. He glanced over at Zoro over his glass. "You'd better prepare yourself. She wants to do it now."

"Aaagh!" a woman shrieked. "Erika-sensei, what are you _doing_?"

Both men looked over to Tashigi, the source of the shriek, and saw her wringing her hands at Erika, who was taking her shirt off.

"What th-" Zoro yelped, not expecting this. Smoker, who was sitting down, glanced at the sight, then looked away, lighting another cigar, completely ignoring the situation. Mihawk's features were absolutely impassive.

Zoro's surprise went in a different direction when he saw what was under her shirt. She was wearing a vest of some sort, the flaps strung together in the front with six strings, and only reaching the middle of her waist. Underneath, she wore a sleeveless white undershirt, baring her arms. The vest was no ordinary vest; at first Zoro thought it was quilted, because it seemed to made up of several rectangles, but on slightly closer inspection, he realized that each one was bulging with a heavy-looking rectangular cargo. He took this in before Erika covered it with her arm, reaching across towards her other bicep. Then he realized that she was reaching for a weighted band wrapped around it. There was a scratchy sound as she tore apart the ends, undoing the band on her arm and tossing it to the ground. Then she reached for the other arm, and Zoro realized that in addition to her other bicep, she was also wearing weighted bands on her wrists. One by one, she took them off, piling them in one heap on the ground beside her. After she finished taking off her arm weights, she proceeded to undo her weighted vest and dropped it unceremoniously to the ground beside her pile of arm weights. There was a loud _thunk_ and a small cloud of dust went up, and when it cleared, Zoro noticed the stone under the vest had been smashed.

Gaping a little in surprise, he looked back at Erika, who was rotating her shoulders and shaking out her wrists, clearly trying to adjust to the lack of weight. Her muscles were not as big as his, but they were clearly well toned and sculpted, the results of years of strength training. He could see them move under skin as she moved her arms around in stretches. Her white undershirt was covered in sweat- probably due to the island's humidity- allowing him to see well-formed abdominal muscles underneath. He could also see that her bust was bandaged, but Zoro realized that it was meant to bind her chest to keep her breasts from getting in the way.

He heard a huff of annoyance, and shifting his eyes to the source, he noticed Tashigi giving him a deadly glare, coupled with her cheeks puffed into a pout. He suddenly realized that he looked like he was ogling Erika. He turned away, blushing a bit. He didn't _mean_ to, but it certainly wasn't every day when you saw a woman that muscular.

"She's taking off her weights," remarked Mihawk, stating the obvious. "Looks like she plans to use her full strength."

Zoro looked back and saw that Erika was sitting on the ground with her back to them, appearing like she was fiddling with her legs. Zoro guessed that she was probably taking weights off her legs. Noticing her back muscles rippling behind her shirt, he grinned. "Her full strength? That's fine. If she's as good as you say she is, I wouldn't want it any other way." He stuck his swords into his haramaki and then unsheathed each one, making a few katas. Earlier, he had only been using one sword when he was doing his katas, and now he made some katas with the others to re-familiarize himself with their weight.

"She's quite strong, but that's not her biggest threat," Mihawk remarked. Zoro paused his kata momentarily to look at him. "You can't let yourself get caught in her pace."

Zoro frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"That's all the warning I'm going to give you. If you don't understand, you'll soon learn what I mean," Mihawk replied bluntly. He sat down at Perona's table, where Perona was eyeing the still unconscious Humandrills uncomfortably, and crossed his legs.

Zoro would have asked again, but Tashigi, who was walking over to him, interrupted any attempt he would have made, saying, "Are you sure you should be fighting in your condition? You're covered in bandages!"

Zoro looked at his torso. Six months had passed since he was sent to Kuraigana Island, and although his injuries from the battle at Sabaody had healed, he continued to get new ones from all his sparring with the Humandrills. These days he was consistently fighting with at least one injury, and he couldn't help but wonder whether he would reunite with his crew looking just as beat up as he did in Sabaody.

He shrugged. "I'll be fine."

"Are you ready?" asked Erika, hands on hips.

Zoro took his bandana off his bicep and tied it around his head, as he always did when he was going to get serious. "Of course I am." He put Wado Ichimonji in his mouth and unsheathed his other two swords.

"All right, let's begin."

Zoro waited for her to unsheathe her own swords, but she didn't; she just stood there, hands on hips, waiting for him expectantly. He realized that she wanted him to attack her first. He would have, but he recalled Mihawk's warning and thought, _If I do what she wants, I'll just get sucked into her pace. I'll wait for her to make the first move._

They stood, staring at each other for what seemed like ages, but was probably at least a minute. Then Erika smirked, and slid the sword on her right partly out of its sheath before she disappeared. The next thing he knew, there was a sudden weight on his Wado, nearly taking his sword out of his mouth.

"Ah, you've got quite a strong jaw."

Zoro looked up and realized that Erika was standing on her toes on Wado. Shit, when did she-

"You surprised me, Zoro. I took you for the offensive type."

Zoro crossed his two hand-held swords over Wado at the side, then slashed outward toward her legs. Light as a ballerina, she jumped off and flipped over his head. Zoro saw her arms move-

 _Clang!_

And stopped her single-sword attack with two swords. Erika tried to kick him at his exposed chest, but he quickly stopped her foot with one sword while trying to keep her sword at bay with his other one. However, she still had another foot, which she used to kick him several feet away. He landed hard on his back on a pile of rubble.

Zoro tried to get up as fast as he could, but her kick had winded him, making the process a little slower due to coughs and gasps. That woman had strong legs. Zoro tried to remember whether Sanji's kicks were as powerful as hers, but he decided to think about that later. Right now he wanted to maintain the distance between them; he didn't like how quickly she managed to approach him before. Her speed was even faster than those in CP9.

He noted her position and concentrated, using Observation Haki in case she tried to make that same disappearing act again. Mihawk had taught Observation Haki to him a month before, and he caught on quickly, realizing that he had already been using it without knowing when he cut steel. It was a good thing he did- he noted the feeling of cold steel going for his neck from behind, and turned and blocked, just barely in time. She'd gotten behind him this time.

He shoved her away with his swords and jumped some feet back. He still didn't like it when she got close to him out of nowhere. Quickly, before she could move again, he raised his two swords and slashed, firing off a 108-pound cannon her way. Erika jumped, leaping high enough to avoid the compressed air, then somersaulted towards him. Zoro noted that she was unsheathing her other sword, which she crossed with her other one and put her feet behind them to add force.

"You have impressive power," she commented, "but it doesn't mean much if it doesn't hit."

Zoro raised his swords and deflected her attack, but the strength of her attack pushed him back a bit, forcing out an irritated grunt. She pressed on him a little more before pushing off of him, jumping backwards and landing several feet away. Zoro eyed her warily. He needed to attack before she tried anything.

"Santoryuu... 108-pound cannon!"

He fired off another 108-pound cannon, then ran behind it, using his Observation Haki to track where she might go. He'll distract her with 108-pound cannon, then attack her with Oni Giri.

This time, though, she remained in the same place, apparently planning to face his attack head on. She stuck one sword into the ground and lifted the other diagonally across her body, ready to defend. The attack hit- and she blocked, but did not take her hand off the sword in the ground. Then, with a grunt, she performed a slash, releasing a flying sword attack that countered the airborne attack and dissipated it. Zoro was surprised, but quickly continued with his Oni Giri. However, just before he could do so, she pulled her other sword out of the ground and caught him on just the same place where Mihawk did in that duel ages ago- that point where all the swords lined up just before he executed Oni Giri.

Zoro inhaled sharply at that, surprised.

"Oi," said Erika.

Zoro, who had been paying attention to her swords, now looked at her in the eyes. "What?"

"Be more careful, fool! Or did you not notice the others?"

Zoro glanced behind her, and saw that Perona, Smoker, Tashigi and Mihawk were all sitting close to the castle wall, watching. If Erika hadn't stopped his attack, then it would have hit them.

"Hmph. They can take care of themselves." To be honest, Zoro usually was more considerate of bystanders in his fights, but this time he'd become so focused on Erika that he had forgotten everything else. In any case, he was sure that if anything got out of hand, Mihawk could stop it. He would probably deflect that attack with the little dagger he wore around his neck, all while coolly sipping his wine, the damn bastard.

Erika's eyes narrowed. "Be more aware of your surroundings, you stupid moron!" she barked, shoving more force behind her sword and sending Zoro flying backwards. When he recovered, he caught sight of her eyes, and stopped dead.

She was giving him the coldest, fiercest, deadliest glare he had ever seen. Several chills ran up his spine in quick succession. He'd been on the receiving end of many nasty glares in fights before- some that said, _I'm going to kill you_ , or _You'll pay for that, you bastard_ , but those times, he merely scoffed at them and sent back his own demonic glares that said, _I'd like to see you try._

But this one-

 _I._

 _WILL._

 _Kill._

 _You._

That was the message her glare sent, and combined with her strength and skill, Zoro felt as if fate itself had given its verdict, that he was going to die right there, right now.

Zoro gaped for a few seconds, then shook his head, trying to stuff that sudden feeling of fear into a corner somewhere- which in of itself rattled him; Zoro was rarely afraid. But that feeling, the feeling that she was going to kill him, remained. Ever since he set his mind on becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman, he'd resigned himself to the idea that he might die one day, like Luffy with his dream of becoming the King of the Pirates, but now…

 _Don't be ridiculous! You're not going to die! You can't die! Luffy sent that message to meet up in two years, and that was an order!_ Hell would freeze over first before Zoro failed to comply with his captain's orders.

He had to attack before she did. Looking within himself, he called up that demon aura he always knew he had. On the outside, two extra heads and four extra arms, all arms with swords, seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Santoryuu... Demon Aura…Asura!" He rushed in towards her, then whirled to execute the deadly attack.

There was a clang, and Zoro stopped. Surprised, he saw that Erika had blocked his attack with one sword while hanging on to the other one, which was stuck into the ground. The ground slowly cracked.

 _She deals with powerful attacks by sticking one sword into the ground for support, and then channels the power through it into the ground_ , he realized. He stepped back, aura dissipating. Better go on the defensive. "Santoryuu... Tatsumaki!" He whirled around, creating his deadly tornado.

He noticed a sword tip stabbed into the whirling air around him, then it disappeared. Next thing he knew, there was a strong current of compressed air _slicing through_ his Tatsumaki diagonally, heading straight for his neck. He managed to jump out of the way to avoid it, in doing so noticing that his tornado him had dissipated. _No way! She managed to dissipate Tatsumaki?_

He then caught sight of Erika barreling towards him in midair, throwing up both arms to make a downward slash. He blocked, but with her momentum, he was thrown straight into the ground. Erika landed some meters away, but she started to walk up to him, twirling her swords in her hands casually.

"So, this is the strength of a Straw Hat pirate? Hm. Beating them will be easy," she remarked airily.

Zoro's mind snapped to attention. _What did she say? Beat them?_ He remembered that she was a bounty hunter. _Is she planning to attack the rest of the crew?_

Dammit, he couldn't have that. Dislodging himself from rubble (he'd landed on the stone walkway) he bolted upright and began to charge, pointing all of his swords horizontally to the left, planning to attack with Kazami Dori in hopes he could occupy both her swords and attack with his third sword. However, when he tried to jerk his two swords in opposite directions to execute the attack, she blocked with her swords vertically, stopping all of his swords, including the one in his mouth. She pushed him away, and before he could recover himself, she started to attack, raining slashes on him so fast that it was all he could do to block them. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to block all of them, and he almost gasped when he felt several slashes reach their target on his chest. Then he felt her blades connect with his own, twist a bit, and suddenly his two hand-held swords were flying through the air, landing some feet away behind him. Grumbling, he removed Wado Ichimonji from his mouth and held it in front of him, but Erika trapped it with her two swords and twisted them, forcing the sword out of his hands. He fell on his knees, turning to see that his sword had landed a few feet to the left. He turned to see his face in the sword that was pointed at his neck.

 _Oh shit. She's going to kill me,_ he thought, moving his eyes to look into her stern gaze.

They stayed that way for a few seconds.

Then the woman started to say something, but Zoro didn't hear her, his mind spinning rapidly. Dammit, she was going to kill him, and then she'll go after his crew. No- he couldn't let that happen-

He swatted her blade away from his neck, then reached out and grabbed her wrist. For once, she looked surprised.

"You," he snarled, "are not going anywhere near my crew!"

"RORONOA ZORO!" shouted a voice. Zoro turned to see Mihawk on his feet and with his arms crossed. "Didn't you hear? She said that the fight was over."

"But-"

"She's not going to kill you. Or your crew." Mihawk sighed. "I warned you, don't get caught up in her pace. Don't you remember? This fight was only a test of your abilities."

Zoro gawked at him, then turned to look at his adversary. She was giving him a smile, one that confirmed what Mihawk said. Reluctantly, he let go of her wrist.

"Thank you." She sheathed her swords and rubbed her wrist.

Seeing that made Zoro remember his own wounds, and he looked down at his chest. His bandages were uncut, but he could still see blood coming through them.

"Don't worry. I used the backs of my swords there. Even so, it looks like you have wounds that haven't healed completely yet. Oi," she called, turning, "Ghost princess, was it? Come here and take care of his wounds; he's bleeding."

"Don't order me around!" shrieked Perona, jumping up and grabbing the first aid kit beside her. Whenever she watched Zoro, she had it with her in case something bad happened.

Zoro gritted his teeth as Perona started to fuss over his bandages. She had used the back of her swords? "Oi! Were you fighting me seriously?" he demanded pointedly at Erika.

"You think that she was fighting you seriously?" asked Mihawk, sounding slightly incredulous. "That was barely two tenths of what she could do."

"Two _tenths_!" exclaimed Zoro. "But you said that she was going to use her full strength!"

"Yes, _physically_. She probably noticed your muscle and decided to take off her weights to counter it. But no matter. I told you, her strength wasn't her biggest threat."

Zoro looked down at the ground, his hands balling into fists. That's right, Mihawk had warned him not to get caught up in her pace. Looking back, he realized that he had been unwittingly sucked him without knowing it- she'd managed to convince him completely that it was a fight to the death, and that she would threaten his crew. He punched the ground. Dammit, what the hell? How did he let that happen?

"Hey, stay still!" Perona yelled.

"That glare of hers is very formidable," Mihawk was saying. Zoro glanced up at him, but Mihawk was not looking at him, but over to Erika, who was walking over to Tashigi and Smoker. "If she wasn't as strong as she is, one could say that that glare is counterproductive. It can induce people to fear for their lives so much that her opponents try even harder to beat her." Zoro couldn't help but think that the man was suppressing a grin. "It must be her swordsman's pride. _She_ doesn't allow _anyone_ to hold back against her."

"Who said I was?!" Zoro snapped. Why the hell would he hold back against someone that Mihawk claimed was second best to him?

"She would've provoked you with it anyway," said a new voice. Zoro turned to see Tashigi walking over. "Since she was testing you, she would have used it just to see how you would react."

"Quite so," Erika joined in. "So what did you think, Tashigi? Do you still believe that he can't fight against women?"

Tashigi hesitated, then puffed her cheeks into a pout. "He waited for you to attack first."

"Like hell I'm going to let her have control of the battle by attacking her first!" yelled Zoro. He groaned; his wounds were acting up. How hard had she hit him?

"Hmmm." Erika turned to Mihawk. "Mihawk, since we're here, perhaps we should bring the ship's doctor ashore to take a look at him."

"You have a ship?" Zoro asked Tashigi, looking surprised.

"Well of course, idiot!" she snapped. "How else did you think we got here? Through the air?"

Mihawk's eyes narrowed. "Is it a Marine ship?" he asked Erika.

"Yes. Under Smoker's command."

"I know that you will always stand by what you say," Mihawk said, "But that doesn't mean the Marines will be the same. Ghost-girl here does just fine taking care of him."

"Oi! Don't call me Ghost-girl!" Perona screeched.

"Alright, if that's what you want," said Erika. "Well, that's it for today. We'll pick it up again tomorrow."

* * *

 **Author's note** : Gasp…gasp… whew! Fight scenes are hard! I had a tough time figuring out how to counterattack against Zoro's moves. If anyone has better suggestions, I'll welcome it. On that note: Gaaah! Don't kill me because Zoro lost! She's supposed to be number two to Mihawk! Also, I know that he's still acting OOC, but he's mostly like that around her…well, in this story's universe, anyway.

I know I've concentrated a bit too much on her, but I'll get to Zoro and Tashigi later. That may be sort of after the next chapter; in the next one, Erika still plays an important role.

Please R&R!


	3. Chapter 3: Questions and Answers

I do not own One Piece or its characters. Eiichiro Oda does. Erika's mine, though.

Chapter 3

Questions and Answers

"Roronoa Zoro!"

Zoro turned his eyes from Perona, who was treating his wounds, to the woman who had called his name. She was coming closer, a determined look on her face. He sighed, and winced at the pain that it caused him. "What do you want?"

"Answers, Roronoa. I have questions that I'd like you to answer." Tashigi folded her arms and gave him a stern look.

In comparison to the deadly glare Erika had given him in battle only minutes before, this glare looked almost cute. Zoro tried not to laugh at the thought, but he couldn't keep back the smile that cracked through his face.

She noticed. "Are you laughing at me, Roronoa Zoro?" she asked icily.

"Uh, no." Zoro quickly rubbed his face with his hand and tried to look as surly as he always did. "Anyway, what makes you think that I'm going to answer your questions?"

Tashigi scowled. "Just answer my questions, Pirate Hunter!"

"First, answer one of mine, and maybe I'll consider it," Zoro cut in before Tashigi could continue. "Could you tell me why _he's_ here?" he asked, jabbing a finger in Smoker's direction.

"He's here because he doesn't like the Shichibukai, and he wanted to make sure I was safe," Tashigi replied, reddening.

Zoro could understand that. The Shichibukai had he had encountered so far were usually powerful and either a crazy or an arrogant asshole, or both.

Tashigi pressed on. "Tell me, Roronoa! I heard that Bartholomew Kuma made all the Straw Hats disappear at Sabaody. No one knows what happened to them, and now, several months later, I come here only to find _you_ here with _Dracule_ _Mihawk_ of all people. Why are you here with him?"

Zoro realized that she would be pretty confused by everything. "You didn't seem too surprised when you first showed up. I assumed that Erika must have told you I was here."

"She did tell us some things, but only after we came here and found you. She said that Bartholomew Kuma had a power to send people flying far away, and that he'd probably used it on you at Sabaody. She also said that she was pretty sure that you were here."

Zoro grimaced. He remembered what Mihawk had said to Erika: "You knew he was here already."

"I think she meant to surprise us. Before this trip, she told us that she was going to duel with Mihawk, and she wanted me to watch."

"Why?"

"Training, I guess." Tashigi shrugged. "So why are you here, Roronoa? Perhaps the way you got here makes sense, but I can't understand why you would still be here. I thought that you would be looking for the rest of the crew by now, if you all got separated. So why are you here with Mihawk? And why are you a part of Mihawk's crew?"

"I never said-." Zoro started, but stopped. If he claimed that he wasn't part of Mihawk's crew, she would probably try to arrest him then and there. He felt irritated. He didn't consider himself part of any crew other than Luffy's, and he felt angry that he would have to play along on this. He couldn't allow anything to jeopardize his training. "I asked Mihawk to train me," he explained through gritted teeth.

Tashigi frowned. "Why would he do that? It doesn't make sense."

Zoro stayed silent. He wasn't going to tell her that he had thrown away his pride and begged Mihawk to train him. Still, even though he did that, Mihawk seemed like he was going to refuse him, but at some point changed his mind.

He noticed that Tashigi was still talking. "Huh?"

Tashigi hardened her stare, and repeated, "I was saying, I don't understand why Mihawk would train you. After all, he fought with Straw Hat Luffy back in Marineford."

Zoro shrugged. Mihawk had informed him long ago that he had fought with Luffy at Marineford. At first he felt irrational anger towards Mihawk- he couldn't understand why he would attack Luffy- but after giving the matter some thought, he surmised that Mihawk was simply doing his duty as a Shichibukai. As the months passed and Zoro learned more about Mihawk's personality, he changed his previous opinion and now assumed that the man went to the war simply to test his strength against all the big-name opponents that were there- and who knows, perhaps he fought with Luffy simply to test his strength, or his luck. He struck Zoro as a man who only did things that he wanted to, without concern for anyone else's opinion. "The man does what he wants," he replied.

Tashigi considered this. "I guess you're right." She hesitated. "But I don't understand why you would ask him for instruction. Did you know that he battled with Luffy at Marineford?"

"Yeah."

"Before or after you asked him to teach you?"

"Before."

"Then how could you go crawling to your Captain's enemy asking for instruction?" demanded Tashigi, her eyebrows coming together.

That comment rankled Zoro. "We were rivals before any of this happened," Zoro grumbled.

"Rivals?" Tashigi sounded incredulous. "How can you two be rivals? And what's more, how could you ask your rival for help? Don't you have any swordsman's _pride_? Where is your shame?"

"SHUT UP! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW?!" Zoro shouted suddenly, punching the ground. Dirt flew everywhere.

"Kyaaa!" shrieked Perona, rocking back and shielding herself from the spray of dirt. "What do you think you're doing, you stupid idiot? You'll get dirt all over the first aid kit! And stay still, or I won't be able finish patching you up!"

She continued to scold him, but Zoro ignored her. He looked straight into Tashigi's eyes, looking as if he were about turn into an angry demon. Tashigi held her ground, but the anger in Zoro's eyes made her breath catch in her throat and her hands tremble ever so slightly.

"Back at Sabaody, we couldn't fight against that admiral who showed up, or against Kuma, and because of my weakness, I ended up here!" he yelled, punching the ground again. "Luffy breaking out of Impel Down…Luffy trying to rescue his brother… watching his brother _die_ …" Here, his voice shook a little, and he looked away from Tashigi's eyes, glancing down at the ground. "I had no idea what was going on, not until Mihawk told me." He looked up, back into her gaze. "I don't know where my crewmates are. I don't even know…" he paused, then continued, "…if they're even… _alive_. But I know Luffy's alive, and I need to help him! But right now, I'm way too weak to help him!" He clenched his teeth and punched the ground once more for emphasis. "I need to get _stronger_ , so I asked Mihawk to train me!"

He paused again, unsure of what to say next. Part of him was about to say, _so that's why I swallowed my pride and asked Mihawk to train me_ , but like hell he was going to tell her that. Finally, all he could manage was, "Do you understand now, you stupid copycat woman?"

During his speech, she looked like she was softening up a bit, but at the "stupid copycat woman" part she bristled. "Don't call me stupid! And I'm not a copycat, you arrogant-"

"Tashigi." A hand appeared on her shoulder. Tashigi turned and saw her teacher staring down at her with an admonishing expression. "Let's go train."

Tashigi inhaled sharply like she was going to argue, but after looking at her teacher's expression for a few seconds more, she looked down, appearing slightly ashamed. Erika nodded at Zoro, then steered Tashigi away.

Zoro leaned forward, ignoring Perona's protests, and rested his elbow on his knee and supported his head in his hand as he watched them walk away. His eyes felt slightly…full. He rubbed at them, somewhat irritated. Today, he felt that his emotions had been yanked out of the corner of his soul that he stuffed them into. His frustration over his weakness, and his frustration over his inability to be there when Luffy needed him most, and his worry over his other nakama's fates- these things he had buried deep down inside six months ago, when he made up his mind to train and get stronger for Luffy's sake. He couldn't afford to have those things distract him, and there was nothing he could do about them anyway. But his duel with Erika that day made him realize that the gap between himself and Mihawk was still wide, and he couldn't help but wonder if he'd become any stronger. Well, of course he had- but fighting with Erika, who hadn't even broken a sweat during the battle, made him feel that he hadn't gotten anywhere.

And then there was Tashigi. He didn't need the distraction that she gave him now. Seeing her made him think of Kuina, and he recalled with utter embarrassment that moment with he swallowed his pride, bowed his head and begged- _begged!_ \- Mihawk to train him. He had wondered what Kuina would think of his actions there. He wasn't sure whether she'd approve, but to hear the words "Do you have any swordsman's _pride_?" come out of that face- that face that was so much like hers- felt so painful to him.

"Dammit," he muttered as he continued to rub his eyes, trying to wipe away the tears of frustration that threatened to crawl out from behind his eyelids.

* * *

 **Author's note** : It sure got pretty angsty when I wasn't looking. I wasn't intending to write a chapter like this, but while I was working on the next chapter, I realized that Tashigi would probably have a lot of questions over Zoro's appearance on Kuraigana Island, so I thought I should address that and also Smoker's presence. So I whipped this up. I'm glad that I did- I got them interacting with each other sooner than I intended to. Please tell me what you guys think of Tashigi's character. Ever since Loguetown, she seems to be ready to argue or fight with Zoro at any given opportunity (come to think of it, he always seems to have a bickering relationship with other women, except maybe Robin). After the time skip she strikes me as much more mature. Tell me what you think.

Also, on that note: To all the people who reviewed it so far, Thaaaaaaank yoooooooou! I felt like I could cry with happiness when I read how much you guys like it. Waaaaaaaah! I hope you will continue to enjoy this chapter. I'm so happy, I'm so happy, so, so happy! Please R&R!


	4. Chapter 4: Respect your Rivals

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, Eiichiro Oda does. I own Erika.

warning: characters may be OOC this chapter, Mihawk in particular (I'm sorry, I tried my best, but it may seem weird. Tell me what you think).

Chapter 4: Respect your rivals

"How are you two so…"

Erika turned to glance at Tashigi, who sat further down the table. "So what?"

"So… _casual_ ," Tashigi asked, looking very befuddled.

Zoro couldn't blame her. Right now they were all eating dinner under Mihawk's roof, a feat accomplished when Erika somehow managed to convince Mihawk to allow her, Tashigi and Smoker to stay at his castle and have dinner with them, a miracle that nearly convinced Zoro ( _nearly_ , mind) that a god might actually exist. Mihawk had been hospitable to him and Perona, but Zoro suspected that he was like that because both Zoro and Perona did not come of their own volition, in addition to the fact that Mihawk was interested in him as the man to surpass him. As for Perona- well, Zoro suspected that he let her stay out of pity, since she didn't really have anywhere to go, due Moriah's unknown status. Or perhaps he let her stay for the sake of taking care of Zoro's wounds. Even so, Zoro never thought that the loner would allow uninvited guests like Erika to stay, especially since they dropped by unannounced and completely on purpose.

Now they were eating the steaks that she had brought. Smoker looked cranky and sullen (after all, he didn't like the Shichibukai), Tashigi looked wary, but Erika seemed cheerful, carrying on a rather one-sided conversation with Mihawk that reminded Zoro of a mother trying to make conversation with her surly teenage son: a lot of talking on her side, and a lot of grunts of agreement or acknowledgment on his. To be honest, the fact that he was even responding to her was incredible; normally, Mihawk, Perona and Zoro all ate dinner together, but even though Perona and Zoro sometimes got into a conversation of sorts (mostly bickering, actually), whenever they tried to talk to Mihawk, they were usually ignored. How on earth did she do it?

"I'd like to know too, actually," Perona chimed in. "Whenever I try to order him around, he just ignores me."

"Who, Mihawk?"

"Of course Mihawk! Who else?"

"You try to order _Mihawk_ around?" Erika's voice sounded like she was trying to restrain herself from laughing, but she ultimately failed. "Bwa ha hahahaha! To him, you must sound like a gnat in his ear."

Zoro nearly spat his food out, then tried to stifle a snicker. Perona scowled. "I am not a gnat!"

"Still, it's a good question." Erika suddenly looked rather thoughtful. "I'm not sure how we got like this… I guess it started back when I was in the Marines and when he was in his first few years as a Shichibukai."

"You met back at that point?" Tashigi asked.

"Actually, we met before then. We've clashed several times before he became a Shichibukai, as Marine vs. pirate. He won some battles, and I won some battles, and… what?" She looked at all of their shocked faces, confused.

"You've won battles against _Mihawk_?" demanded Zoro, his respect for her going up several notches. "How on earth did you do that?"

"Is that really so hard to believe?" Erika asked incredulously. "Of course he's lost some battles in the past. He's had to train and build up his strength like you. What, did you think that he leapt out of his mother's womb as the Greatest Swordsman in the World?"

At that, Perona, Tashigi and Zoro couldn't hold it in; the picture she'd presented them with was just too priceless. They burst out laughing (even Smoker snickered a little, if one could believe it), carrying on for almost a minute, at some point with Erika joining in, before Mihawk cleared his throat, set his wine glass down with a hard clatter, and gave them all (Erika included) a glare that promised them death if they didn't shut up. They all choked when they noticed it, trying so hard to hold back the giggles. At one point, Zoro and Tashigi caught each other's eye across the table, then looked away.

"Erika, if you tell them something like that about my past again, consider yourself no longer welcome at this castle. Your companions included," Mihawk snapped.

"Ho-o-okay, okay, sorry," stammered Erika, hand over her eyes, still recovering from her fit of laughter. "Anyway, that was back before he became the Greatest Swordsman in the World. Ever since he became that, we've fought three times, and I lost every time. There, happy?" she asked Mihawk. He grunted, chewing on another piece of steak.

"But in any case," Erika went on, "We had an antagonistic relationship with each other before he became a Shichibukai. Afterwards, well… when he first became a Shichibukai- actually, ever since he became a Shichibukai- you see, Mihawk never really attends the meetings at headquarters unless he wants to. After about half a year of him playing hooky, the heads got annoyed and sent me to drag his ass to headquarters. Since I was one of the few who were able to come back from battle with him alive, I guess they felt I could get the job done. It sure drove me crazy though- I always felt I could be doing something more worth my time. At least it got me away from all that paperwork."

"As you kept telling me the whole way there and the whole way back," muttered Mihawk as he took a sip from his glass.

Erika scowled. "Well, of course. I joined the marines to deliver justice- not to drag a cranky Shichibukai to headquarters on a quarterly basis. In any case, I always had to do a lot of talking just to get him out of his castle, or wherever he was; into the ship, and then keep him from terrifying my crew. So, I guess that's how it happened."

"That's kind of vague," Smoker commented- first thing he said all evening.

Erika shrugged. "That's the best I can do. I really don't know why we're like this. I think it just happened gradually."

"Just wondering, but why did you leave the Marines?" asked Zoro curiously. From the way Tashigi's head perked up, she didn't know either, and was eager to know. Even Smoker shifted a little to look at Erika for her answer. Only Mihawk didn't seem interested- Zoro figured that she must have told him before, or he figured it out himself.

Erika frowned, though more as if she were trying to figure out how to answer the question than out of displeasure. "Hmmm…how do I put this…" She folded her arms and shifted in her seat. She turned to Smoker. "The Marines may not like what I have to say."

Smoker grunted. "The Marines don't care what you have to say right now." He glanced at Tashigi, who gave a reluctant nod.

"Are you sure?" Erika glanced at Tashigi. "Tashigi, you may not wish to continue learning from me afterwards."

Tashigi put her hands on her lap. "I'll decide that afterwards. Could you please tell us why you left?"

Erika sighed. "All right, if you insist." She hesitated, then finally said to Zoro, "You know what happened at Marineford, right?"

Zoro's throat tightened. "Of course I know." He gritted his teeth as he stared down at his empty plate.

"Only Straw Hat Luffy's side of the story, I'm sure," Erika said. "But Marineford was not only the site of Portagas D. Ace's execution, but also a city. Many citizens got caught up in the battle and died. And the reason for that was partially the Marines' fault. Blackbeard's pirates attacked, but that fool, Akainu, he refused to turn attention to them and went after Straw Hat Luffy. If he hadn't done that, then perhaps fewer people would have died." She sighed, shaking her head. "That fool, Akainu… all the Marines speak of justice, whether it's moral or absolute justice, or some other kind of justice. The truth of the matter is, the Marines are simply a force of the World Government, one that is meant to uphold the World Government's laws, order and power. Any challenge to that power is perceived as a threat. Pirates are powerful in this era, and therefore a great threat. Therefore, the Marines will go against any pirate, even if some pirates have acted as forces of good." Her eyes slid over to Zoro. "I joined the Marines to dispense justice, like many others. But I quickly learned what the Marines are really for. Nevertheless, that never stopped me from trying to follow my own kind of justice. But then there was that incident…" She put her elbow on the table, leaning her head into her hand, a sad, faraway, reminiscing look in her eye.

Everyone waited patiently. Erika paused for a few minutes before continuing, "At one point, when I was a vice admiral-"

" _Whaaaaat_?!" shrieked Tashigi, dropping her fork. She whirled over to Smoker, who was sitting next to her. "Smoker-san, could you please tell me if that is that true?"

"You were a _vice admiral_?!" yelled Zoro in shock. He knew she was powerful, but still-!

"She could've been an admiral, but she kept turning down the promotions," Mihawk added nonchalantly. Zoro gawked, shell-shocked.

"Meh," mumbled Erika, flapping her hand dismissively. "Too much paperwork. And I wanted more opportunities to stay in the field- there were better things to do there."

"You're very similar to Vice Admiral Garp that way," observed Smoker.

Erika smiled. "Why, thank you. Ah, that makes remember- no one could ever rein that old man in, except maybe Sengoku. So energetic for his age. Much like his grandson." She winked at Zoro.

"But- still," sputtered Tashigi, trying to calm herself down, "you were telling us why you left?"

"Ah, yes. Well, one day, I was ordered to pair up with an admiral for a mission. We had to capture a pirate, Thunder Saul, who was worth 300 million beri. We went to capture him on a certain island. That damn admiral was too much like Akainu- all he concentrated on was executing 'Absolute justice.' He came up with a stupid plan- one that would have certainly endangered the lives of the villagers living on that island, and could also have endangered the lives of my men. I spent days arguing with him about it, trying to convince him that there were alternatives, but that idiot was resolved, and refused to change it. So in the end, I decided to go against his order and had my men protect the villagers from Thunder Saul and that stupid admiral's plan. In the end, Thunder Saul managed to get away, and for that I was severely reprimanded for my insubordination."

By now she had both elbows on the table, resting her head in her hands. Zoro was curious as to what exactly the plan was, but the look on her face showed that she didn't want to talk about it. Thinking about it was probably hard enough.

"I had some connections with some other admirals who intervened, and with their help, I avoided a court martial. But what disturbed me most about the incident were other admirals, ones who I wasn't connected with, who sided with that stupid admiral and his plan. I kept arguing that it was stupid, I gave reasons why it was stupid, and also alternatives, but some accused me of being 'soft' or 'not seeing the bigger picture.'" She gritted her teeth. "As if _they_ could ever see the bigger picture. I was able to keep my rank, but the experience made me think. I've been in such situations before, ones where I had to decide on sacrificing innocent people or my men. But those times were never part of a pre-planned strategy to capture a pirate. I knew that after this incident, if I didn't want to risk my rank or the reputation of my men, I would have to keep my mouth shut and act obediently for a while."

"But soon afterwards, I was given a simple mission to arrest the pirate 'Sunny John,' who had taken control of an island in the West Blue. I decided to go undercover so I could see for myself the effect of his influence on the people and therefore gather evidence to help judge the weight of his crime. But when I went, everywhere I looked, I saw happy people. They didn't have a trace of fear in their eyes of 'Sunny John' and his crew. And when I met the man himself, I could tell he was a good man, in the courteous way he interacted with others and his genuine concern for the civilians. I didn't want to arrest such a man, and told my superior so, but he insisted that he should be, since he's a pirate. Orders were orders, and I was already in trouble with the consequences of my previous mission. I arrested him, but my consciousness kept nagging at me, and when I was on my way to deliver him to Enies Lobby I finally changed my mind and let him go. I lied in my report and said that he managed to escape somehow."

Zoro thought he noticed Tashigi twitch and Smoker bit a little harder on his cigars, but he wasn't sure. It might be his imagination.

"Well, after that, I started to think even more. I could continue on trying to keep my rank by acting obedient, but I didn't want to do that. I knew that during that time, I could be put into another situation where I might have to risk my men or my principles, or both. I couldn't allow that. Ever since I joined the Marines, I always tried my best to act according to my principles. And my men, too. When you join up with the Marines, you are in effect risking your life. In any battle, there is always the chance of death. But the responsibility of any superior in the Marines is to not only complete the mission, but also to ensure your men's survival. I had no wish to put my men in unnecessary danger. Yet, if I swallowed my pride and principles, and complied with the idea of 'absolute justice' just to protect my rank…my men were certain to fall into such danger. Furthermore, I had no wish to arrest a pirate who I felt was a good man, despite what the World Government would say."

"So, in the end I decided to resign, and become a bounty hunter. At least as a bounty hunter, I could avoid putting others into unnecessary danger, and I could choose some targets over others. I had more control over what I could do, and dispense my own justice the way I see fit."

"A bit of a vigilante now, are you?" commented Zoro, giving her a devilish grin.

Erika shook her head. "Not really. I have a license from the government, and sometimes I do jobs for them, but at the very least, I get to do things my way without having to worry about the consequences as much. That is, the consequences that you'd face as a Marine."

"What about your men?" asked Tashigi. "Wouldn't you be, in effect, abandoning them since you resigned?"

Erika gave a pained smile, one that Zoro believed indicated that this issue was always hanging over her head. "When I left, my unit was broken up and I asked my friends in the Marines to take care of my men and ensure that they didn't get into unsavory situations like the one with Thunder Saul. Several were relocated to more peaceful posts, but some were troublesome enough that they wound up in G-5." She gave a more genuine smile, one that seemed to reflect nostalgia. "Smoker, since you've transferred over to the G-5 base now, I hope you can take care of them."

Smoker looked away from her eyes, but replied, "Don't worry about them."

"Erika-sensei," said Tashigi, "do you think you did the right thing?"

"Hmmmm." Erika folded her arms. "For my conscience, I'd say so. As to the effect on others, like my men, I'm not so sure. I'll bet some of my men out there are cursing me for sending them to more peaceful posts." She grinned. "But I have no regrets, and if I were given the choice, I would do it again."

There was a short silence, and before anyone could say anything else, Erika stood up and said, "All right! Dinner's over! Zoro, Tashigi, why don't you go help Perona do the dishes?"

"Are we your children or something?" demanded Zoro and Tashigi in annoyed unison, before turning their irritated glare on each other. All they got in response was a burst of laughter from Erika, who waved her hand at them, then promptly turned to Smoker, saying, "Ah, Smoker, is there anything you'd like to us talk about?"

He shook his head. "No. I think I'll turn in for the night. Tashigi, you'd better turn in too, once you're done."

"Yes, Smoker-san."

Once Smoker was gone, Zoro, Tashigi and Perona got to work washing the dishes. Tashigi washed, Perona dried, and Zoro, being the tallest, put everything away in the cupboards on the wall. Except for Perona speaking up to tell Zoro where to put things, they worked in relative silence. Zoro was content with that, until a question popped into his head that he couldn't ignore.

"Oi, copycat woman," he said.

He was rewarded with an angry glance, then she ignored him.

"Oi," he began again, paused and thought for a minute, then said, "Marine girl."

"My name is Tashigi," she said grouchily.

"Marine girl," he continued, ignoring her complaint, "what kind of swords does that woman have?"

That got Tashigi's attention. For a moment she looked like she was going to answer, but she stopped, and said, "Why should I tell a pirate like you?"

"What, you think I'm going to steal them?" Zoro scoffed. "I already have three, I don't need more, believe it or not. I'm just curious. She seems to have impressive body strength, but her swords must've been pretty strong to take the force of my attacks. Are they members of the Supreme grade or Greater Grade swords?"

Zoro could tell that she was fighting not grin. "Yes, they're both swords from the 21 Greater Grade swords," she replied, a forced look of seriousness on her face. "They're called Nagareboshi and Gyousei."*

"So _that's_ why she's called 'Erika of the Star Blades.'"

Tashigi nodded, and returned to her task.

"Are you going to take her swords?"

Tashigi nearly dropped the plate she was holding. "What?"

"She's a bounty hunter, isn't she? I seem to recall that when you found out who I was, you were mad with me because I was a bounty hunter who made money with my swords, and you were going to take them from me for that reason."

Tashigi scowled. "Didn't you hear what she was saying earlier? She does bounty hunting to execute her own kind of justice. I've been around her long enough to understand what she's like and I respect that."

"So I guess you're still going to accept her as your teacher? She's said a lot of things that a Marine like you may not like."

Tashigi leaned into his face. "Argh! I have my own interpretation of justice, and there's many things that the Marines do that I disagree with, so I can understand her point! What does it matter to you what I think?"

"It matters because before you even realized who I was, you were prepared to take my sword away without even understanding my own ambitions!" Zoro retorted. "You just assume too much! Am I not allowed to say why I am a swordsman, or what I use my swords for?"

Tashigi's face softened. He was right; she'd been too quick to judge. Not trying to understand Zoro's reasons for his actions would be blatantly unfair. "Fine. Please tell me, what are your ambitions?"

Zoro straightened and folded his arms, staring down at her. "To become the Greatest Swordsman in the World."

Tashigi nearly scoffed. "What? Seriously, the Greatest Swordsman in the World? You lowered yourself to the level of a bounty hunter and then a pirate just to do that? You're lying!"

"What? Why do you say that?" Zoro exclaimed.

"Earlier today, you said that you asked Mihawk to teach you because you wanted to get stronger," said Tashigi. "But if you really did want to become the Greatest Swordsman in the World, how could you swallow your pride like that and ask the Greatest Swordsman in the World for instruction? Are you an idiot?"

"I don't know how I did it, but I did! I already told you, I had to in order to get stronger!" Zoro snapped.

"You know, you could have avoided such humiliation if you didn't lower yourself to being a pirate," Tashigi pointed out. "How could you ever call yourself the Greatest Swordsman in the World when you are so willing to throw away your pride like that?"

"In case you hadn't noticed, Mihawk is a pirate too, you know," Zoro told her dryly.

"I know, but you could have been better than him!"

At this point, Zoro's face was as red as a tomato. "Tch. I became a bounty hunter because I couldn't find my way home, I needed the money and I had the skills. Plus, I had a reason to seek out strong opponents. But when I became a pirate, I didn't really have a choice in the matter." He leaned down so that their eyes were more level. "Still, if I had to face that choice again, I'd still choose the same. I never would have become as strong as I am now if I hadn't joined Luffy. I don't regret my decision!"

Tashigi opened her mouth to say something, but Erika's voice rang out, "Hey! Will you two keep it down? We can hear you over here!"

"Are you two going to help me finish the dishes, or will I?" demanded another voice. They both turned to look at Perona, who was leaning against the sink, watching them argue and looking rather irritated. They had totally forgotten that she was there.

In the end, both of them bit their lips and helped finish the dishes in intense, fuming silence. Once they were done, both stalked off to their rooms.

"Good ni-ight," Erika called lightheartedly after them when she saw them leave the kitchen. She and Mihawk were still at the dining table, but Erika had spread several bounty posters over it, and was discussing with Mihawk the strength of various bounties.

"She seems pretty argumentative if you ask me," said Mihawk, shaking his head as he took a sip of his wine. "I don't know what you were thinking, taking an apprentice like that, Erika."

"She's just prideful, that's all," said Erika, picking up one of the wanted posters.

Mihawk snorted. "Hmph. If Roronoa defeated her, then she's 100 years too early to be speaking about pride."

"People will always have pride, regardless of whether they're mature enough to have it or not," Erika remarked. She picked up another wanted poster. "Now, Mihawk, what do you think of this one, Trafalgar Law?"

"Trafalgar Law? Wasn't he the man that helped the Straw Hat boy escape?"

"Yes, him. He relies a lot on his devil fruit powers, which allow him to create a space in which he can manipulate anything. But on top of that, it seems that he carries around a Nodachi, and a cursed one at that. He must have swordsmanship of some caliber if he can handle that."

"He does sound interesting," replied Mihawk, leaning forward to look down at the poster.

* * *

Zoro had planned to resume training once he reached his room, but somehow, his room did not want him to find it. For two hours he wandered around the castle, trying to find his room. At one point he turned a corner and found Erika walking down the hallway.

"What are you doing here?" Zoro asked. "Are you lost or something? I thought your rooms were on the other side of the castle."

"This _is_ the other side of the castle. My room is just a few doors down." Erika tried to stifle a laugh but failed. "Perona's shown us around, and I thought I might have some trouble, but none like this. I've heard of your infamous reputation for getting lost, Roronoa Zoro, but _this_ is far worse than I expected."

"I'm not lost! Everything just moves around!" Zoro argued, blushing.

Erika smirked. "Uh-huh. Right." She glanced down at Zoro's swords. "You have a fine collection of swords there. You work well with them in battle. May I see?" She held out a hand.

She didn't seem like Tashigi, who he felt would try to take them from him when he wasn't looking. Still, he was cautious, and he had his own conditions. "Only if I can see yours."

Erika smiled. "But of course." She unsheathed one sword and held it out for him to see.

Zoro, seeing that show of trust, now felt like he couldn't deny her request. "Alright." He unsheathed his Shuusui and handed it over to her. "But I can't show you Kitetsu. He doesn't play well with others."

"Ah, yes, a cursed sword, no? Very annoying problem children, are they not?" she asked, taking Shuusui and handing him her own sword.

Zoro grinned. "You've dealt with cursed swords before?"

"I've handled one or two, but they just aren't for me. I like my blades here just fine." She patted her other sword fondly.

"Oh yeah, the Star blades. Nagareboshi and Gyousei, right?" He inspected the one he held carefully. "Which one is this one?"

"That one is Gyousei. And this one is Shuusui, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Fascinating," she muttered, tracing the blade on the flat side with her finger. Zoro examined Gyousei. It was very strong, yet flexible. He pressed down near the tip to test the tension, and from what he felt, he guessed that this sword could take a great deal of force. The edge was wicked sharp- not quite as sharp as Kitetsu, but still sharp enough that he looked at it with new respect.

"May I see the other?" asked Erika, holding out Shuusui to him.

"Ah! Um, sure." He sheathed Shuusui and unsheathed Wado Ichimonji and handed it to her. She traded it for her Gyousei and handed him her Nagareboshi. This one was just as strong and supple as Gyousei, but Zoro could tell that it was a little bit lighter and a little bit sharper than the other one. He guessed that if she needed to make quick slashes, she would use this one. Looking at it, he got the creeping feeling that if she hadn't used the back of her sword earlier on him that day, he would either be dead or at least unconscious.

"You love this sword, don't you?" asked Erika, prompting Zoro to look up. He returned her sword to her. She promptly sheathed it, but she continued to examine his Wado. "You use this one in your mouth, right? Yet I can see you've replaced the threads several times." She smiled gently as she returned it. "You must have an old connection to this sword. Did it belong to someone you care for? To that girl who looks like Tashigi, perhaps?"

Zoro's jaw dropped. "How did you know?"

* * *

After returning to her room, Tashigi was too worked up to sleep, so she practiced her kata for over an hour to release her frustration. She felt better afterwards, but she still had trouble sleeping, so she decided to go down to the library and borrow a book to read until she fell asleep. She hoped Mihawk wouldn't mind, and hoped that she could borrow a book and return it in the morning before he noticed if he did.

She crept quietly over to the library, knowing where it was because Perona had showed them around the castle earlier, but stopped short when she saw a light coming from the open doorway. Surprised, and worried about what she might find, she crept over to the open doorway and carefully edged her head slowly around the doorway to see what was inside.

As she feared, Mihawk was there, sitting in a high-backed throne-like chair, with a glass of wine in one hand- when was that man _not_ drinking wine?- and a heavy tome open on his lap. Tashigi froze when she saw him. She'd seen his prowess at the battle of Marineford, and she was in awe of his status as the Greatest Swordsman in the World, pirate or not. From what she'd seen, he was an incredibly dangerous man, and she couldn't help but be nervous around him, no matter how much she wanted to kick that feeling away. Like Zoro, she had trouble understanding how Erika could act so casual around him, even though she knew about Erika's own strength. She wasn't sure how a man this serious could tolerate Erika's outgoing personality, regardless of what he thought of her.

She turned around and was about to return to her room when she heard Mihawk's deep voice say, "What are you doing here?"

She froze, feeling terrified, but then set her mouth in a hard line, squared her shoulders and willed her body to rotate and look back at Mihawk. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw those piercing golden eyes boring into her, and she felt uncomfortably exposed, like he was looking right into her soul.

"Oh, it's you," Mihawk said, recognizing her. He tore his eyes away and returned them to his book, which Tashigi felt grateful for. "Why are you still up? Go to bed, Marine girl."

Tashigi struggled to find her voice. "I-I.." she swallowed, then stepped into the room so he could see all of her. She gritted her teeth and stared straight at Mihawk, saying, "I'm sorry, sir! I-I couldn't sleep, so I came down to see if I could borrow a book in the library." She noticed his eyes dart in her direction, and she said quickly, "I'm sorry, I should have asked whether I could borrow any of your books-"

"Go ahead," Mihawk's voice interrupted.

"Uh..." Tashigi was surprised.

"Ghost-girl usually comes in here and takes away the medical books or the horror stories without asking anyway, so at this point I don't mind," Mihawk said in a matter-of-fact way, sipping his wine. "Just put it back where you found it when you're done."

"Um, ok. Th-thank you, sir."

In spite of saying that, Tashigi felt too stunned to move, until Mihawk sent her an exasperated look and said, "Well? Either get a book or leave. I like to have the library to myself, especially when that noisy ghost-girl is asleep."

'Uh- uh, right! Thank you, sir!" Tashigi ran in and started looking around the shelves. Some of these books were very old, and some of them were in languages she couldn't even read. Finally, to her excitement, she found a book about all the meitou in world, including the 12 Supreme Grade Swords, the 21 Great Grade Swords, the 50 Skillful Grade Swords, and other Grade Swords. Although she carried a pocket guide to these swords, this book had information on them that the pocket guide didn't have, and even included information about legendary swords long thought to be lost. She was so excited upon finding this book that she forgot to leave, and instead sat there perusing it, totally absorbed, not afraid to gasp in wonder and excitement whenever she learned something new or interesting.

At one point, she reached an entry that was dedicated to Yoru, Mihawk's own black blade, and she was partially brought back to reality. She recalled that the owner of that very blade was sitting in this very room, and she lifted her head to look at him. He didn't seem concerned at all that she was still there, and appeared absorbed in his own book. A glint of light caught her eye, dragging her eyes over to the space beside him, and she started in surprise. There it was, Yoru, that legendary black blade, propped up against the wall next to Mihawk, only ten feet away!

She leaned in and adjusted her glasses, trying to get a better look. The blade was long and stunning; both deadly and a piece of art. Against the jet-black sheen, if Tashigi could squint, she could see the double clove pattern on the blade. Looking at the jeweled, golden hilt, she wondered how heavy it was and how the gemstones affected the weight. Unconsciously, she reached out a hand.

"No touching."

The warning was illogical, considering she was ten feet away from his blade, but this sharp reprimand brought her firmly back to reality all the same. She flinched at the sudden sound of the voice, turned back to look at Mihawk, and was mortified when she realized that he was watching at her, with a faint, amused smile playing on his face. Feeling her cheeks grow hot out of embarrassment, she pressed her hand against one of them, then felt wetness near the base of her palm and was horrified to discover that she was _drooling_. She hastily wiped her mouth on her sleeve and hide her hot, red-as-a-tomato face behind her book, feeling chastened.

"Weren't you going to take a book and return to your room?" he drawled.

"Ah! Um, y-yes sir." She stood up unsteadily, but her legs were asleep by now- at least her book had put _something_ to sleep- and she fell over. Blushing, if possible, even more, she struggled to get up again and stood there for a moment while she shook out the numbness in her legs.

Mihawk continued to stare at her as she did so, taking in the title on her book. "'Great Swords of the World,'" he read out loud. Tashigi glanced up at him, surprised that he could see the title (which wasn't written in big letters on the cover) from all the way over there, but then again, he _was_ called "Hawk-eyes" Mihawk. "You seem extremely interested in swords."

"Y-yes, sir!" stammered Tashigi, still blushing. A short silence ensued, which Tashigi found kind of awkward, so she tried to break the silence by babbling. "I usually carry around a pocket guide, but your book is so fascinating! I've learned things I never even dreamed of about the many kinds of graded swords in the world! I already knew that your Kokutou Yoru had a double clove pattern on the blade and an irregular temper line, and that it's seven feet long, and its weight-."

She continued along this vein for a while. Mihawk did not interrupt her. She was too nervous to look into his unnerving golden eyes again, so for the most part, she kept her eyes to the floor. Once, as she babbled on, she sneaked a peak at Mihawk's face, and was astonished to see that he hadn't returned to his book, but was looking straight at her and listening to everything she said. She was so surprised that she trailed off, and then looked away again in embarrassment.

"Interesting," Mihawk commented. "I never knew that someone knew my Yoru half as well I do." He gave his sword a fond look, then returned his attention to her. "In fact, I never knew there was someone half as interested in everything about the meitou as you are."

"Oh, yes sir! I'm always struck with awe every time I see a meitou, sir," she replied with some difficulty. "In fact, I plan to take any meitou I find out of the hands of those who use them for self-centered purposes." She clapped a hand over her mouth, blushing so hard she felt like her face was going to pop. _Why did I say that? Oh God!_

As expected, Mihawk laughed, the first time she heard him laugh all evening. She squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment and turned her head towards the ground.

"A brash ambition," remarked Mihawk when he stopped laughing. "You seem quite confident in yourself, if you wish to make such a strong statement.** If I remember correctly, you and Roronoa were arguing about that earlier this evening. I suppose that eventually you will try to take my Yoru, as well?"

"Why?"

"I may be a Shichibukai, but I'm still a pirate."

Tashigi swallowed. She had pride in her own skills, but she wasn't stupid. She knew that she was merely a puddle to Mihawk's ocean in terms of skill and strength. "Although you're a pirate, I can't deny your skill. I witnessed it at the battle of Marineford. It would be unfair, to say in the least, if the Greatest Swordsman in the World didn't have a blade that suits him."

"I see. You do not know my ambitions, so you do not judge them. But you recognize and respect my skill. Yet you cannot extend this courtesy towards Roronoa, who trains to surpass me?"

"Roronoa is different!" she protested.

"Of course he is. Tell me, what do you think of Roronoa?"

* * *

"How do you know that that sword is hers?" Zoro asked.

Erika smiled. "I don't really know. It was just a lucky guess. My hunches are pretty good. Tashigi told me that you told her that she looks like an old friend of yours, and that she was saying things that your old friend used to say. All I did was put two and two together." She looked over Zoro in such a way that he felt like he was being examined. "So. This dead girlfriend of yours sounds interesting. Could you tell me more about her?"

"She wasn't my girlfriend. And I don't like to talk about her," Zoro replied, feeling uncomfortable.

"Not your dead girlfriend, huh? Then perhaps a friend? Or a rival?" She noted the signs of surprise in Zoro's eyes and grinned again. "Ah, rival, huh? And you say that she used to say the same things as Tashigi? That she wishes to be born a boy? That men consider women to be weak?"

"Not exactly," Zoro found himself saying.

Erika raised an eyebrow. "Really? What do you mean?"

"Kuina- that was her name- was told that when she grew up she would become weak because she's a girl. That Marine girl didn't say the exact same thing, but it sounds almost the same."

Erika scratched her head. "Your friend, Kuina- she would've been in good company with many of the women in the Marines. They've all had to deal with problems much like her own." She sighed. "I always find it puzzling- how is it that the Marines would allow women to join, when so many member countries insist on telling their girls that they're too weak to fight, or can't keep up with men?"

"Can't keep up with men, huh?" Zoro smirked. "I fought with Kuina in two thousand and one matches, and yet I never beat her. I trained and trained, but I could never beat her. And she was able to beat adults."

"Adults? She was a child?"

"She was just becoming a teenager when she died," Zoro replied. "But before then, we made a promise that either one of us would become the Greatest Swordsman in the World. But right after we made that promise, she died in an accident. Now, I work hard to fulfill that dream for both of us."

"Well, well," said Erika, "it's a pity that the swordsman world never knew of her. She sounds like she would have been a formidable swordsman."

"Yeah, that's what I always thought. I was always frustrated that I couldn't beat her, but I always respected her."

Erika glanced at him. "Respect for her? Are you sure that's all you felt towards her?"

The doubt in Erika's voice got to him. He glowered and said, "What, do you think I'm lying?"

* * *

"What do I think of Roronoa?" Tashigi repeated, a little surprised and slightly confused.

"Yes. Do you think of him as an enemy? Or a rival?" Mihawk inquired.

 _Oh, so that's what he meant._ "I think I think of him as an enemy…or a rival at best."

Mihawk stared at her for a minute, making her feel extremely uneasy. Then he spoke.

"No, you don't."

Tashigi opened her mouth in protest. "What do you mean, I don't?"

"You think of him as a pest," Mihawk stated bluntly.

Tashigi was at a loss for words. A growing feeling of anger inside her helped to get them back. "A pest? What makes you say that? You don't even know me-"

"You have a grudge against him because he spared your life after defeating you, and you believed that he did it because he goes easy on women, no?" Mihawk interrupted. "From what Erika told me, Roronoa never gave the slightest indication that he went easy on you because you're a woman, yet you came to that conclusion anyway."

"Well yes," Tashigi conceded. "But that doesn't mean I think of him as a pest!"

"When you refuse to understand your opponents properly, you are treating them as pests," Mihawk said, stating his words in a factual manner. "Most of the time, when you're fighting half-skilled weaklings, there's no need for a deeper understanding of them. But when you are fighting a formidable opponent, you need to understand them better, and not just in terms of strength and skill. There are superiors in the Marines who understand this, even if others don't." He narrowed his eyes. "A relationship with a rival may start for whatever reason- hate, admiration, a grudge- but in the end, if you do not have a proper understanding of your enemy and do not harbor proper respect for their strength, skills, or ambitions, then in the end you will never beat them, and you will die." He folded his arms. "You say that you will take away meitou from those unfit to wield them. Yet if you do not try to understand those people, you will make judgments that you will regret later."

* * *

"You think I'm lying?" Zoro demanded, when questioned on his respect for Kuina.

Erika gave him a stare, then said abruptly, "No. I can tell you respect her. But respect for Kuina is not what drove you to leave Tashigi alive. You cannot leave an opponent alive and say that you spared them because they look like a rival. Not that you said that though; you said that she was your friend. In truth, you may have cared deeply for Kuina- perhaps as a dear, dear friend, if not more."

"But," she added, her voice suddenly colder and harder, "regardless of however you felt about her, you need to remember, Kuina is _dead_ , and no matter what you do, nothing can change that. No matter how similar Tashigi may be to her, she will never be Kuina. Respect Tashigi for being Tashigi. Respect anyone who may look or seem like Kuina for themselves. Respect them for their _own_ will, because they are not carrying Kuina's will. You are."

Zoro said nothing. Seemingly satisfied with what she had to say, Erika started to move down the hall. Suddenly she stopped, and said over her shoulder, "One more thing, Roronoa Zoro. I know that after defeating Tashigi, you would consider her much weaker than you. But don't be so foolish as to think that she will always remain that way. She's changed a great deal since that first duel you two had."

"I know!" Zoro retorted. "I mean, I don't expect her to be the same. But I'm growing stronger too. She shouldn't expect to catch up to me any time soon."

"Hmph. Arrogant words. I'll tell you the same thing in regards to Mihawk. I'm sure he expects you to catch up to him, but he's certainly not going to make it easy for you to surpass him. Even at his age he's still evolving, like any good swordsman would. Believe me, _I_ know."

"'At his age?'" Zoro repeated. "Just how old is he, anyway?"

"Hm... forty-one last I checked."

"Huh. How old are you?"

That earned him a smack on the head, resulting in a comically large bump. "DON'T ASK A WOMAN HER AGE, YOU FOOL!" Erika snapped. "But if you want to know, I'm thirty-seven."

"If you were going to tell me anyway, then don't get angry with me!" Zoro argued, getting comically angry.

"Well, it's getting late," said Erika, changing the subject. "I'll be going to bed."

Zoro blinked. "Really? Already?"

"It's almost 11. You'd better get to bed now; we'll be getting up early for training tomorrow."

Zoro flinched when he heard the time. "Shit! My training!" And he ran off.

"Zoro! I'm pretty sure your room is THAT way!"

* * *

His words left no room for debate. Tashigi gripped her book tightly in one hand and clenched her fist in the other, and she was gritting her teeth hard. She could not deny that his words made sense. She felt frustrated that she was accepting reason from a pirate of all people, Shichibukai or no.

Mihawk noted her white knuckles and added, "You seem to dislike losing in anything, but at least you are smart enough to listen to reason. It's disappointing that someone like you would complain about the outcome of a battle."

Tashigi gripped her book even tighter. "You don't know what it's like, being a female swordsman."

"No, I don't," Mihawk replied brusquely. "But I do know what it's like to fight against one. And she's never let her gender get in her way, physically or mentally. She has my respect for that. You would do well to learn from her." He returned his gaze to his book. "Defeat is humiliating, but don't let it make you so irrational as to beg for respect. A swordsman does not beg for respect; a swordsman _earns_ it. As _she_ has." He turned a page in his book. "Now go to bed, Marine girl. I am no longer interested in talking with you."

* * *

*Nagareboshi- shooting star, Gyousei- morning star

**What Mihawk is saying here is, when you take someone's sword away, it's a strong statement that means that that person is unworthy of the blade (like the wiki says).

Author's note: This was a really hard chapter to write. I think I may go over it again; I'm not sure I conveyed things well enough. But basically, I wanted Erika to have a talk with Zoro. I didn't plan on having Mihawk talk to Tashigi, which oddly enough seems weird, because I can't imagine them actually meeting in the canon (although if they did and spoke to each other, that might be interesting), but I thought, "Well, Zoro's talking to Erika, let's make it fair and have Tashigi talk with Mihawk." I think he came out pretty harsh. Originally I was going to have him ask her a question out of the blue, but I'm glad that I chose to lead them into a conversation like this one, and I enjoyed writing about Tashigi's realization that she was drooling over Yoru. Seriously, I think if she ever got in close proximity to that blade in the canon, she would actually drool over it.

Anyway, the point of the chapter was to address Zoro and Tashigi's weaknesses. Man, I've been spending the last two chapters and this one pounding Zoro into the ground. I hope I can get both of them back out and improving themselves soon. Next chapter: Training! Please R&R!

Author's note: the latest update was some edits. If anyone sees something out of place, like a typo or misspelling, please tell me! Thank you!


	5. Chapter 5: She's Tashigi

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of the One Piece characters.

Chapter 5

She's Tashigi

"What?"

Zoro gaped at Mihawk over the table at breakfast. They were the only two in the room; Tashigi was in her outside practicing kata with Smoker and Erika on watch, and Perona was washing dishes.

"You heard me. You and that Marine girl will be sparring together today," Mihawk told him.

Zoro continued to gape at him, making choking noises, until he finally found his voice and choked out, "Uh…okay." He stared down at his food, struggling to accept the situation. He _really_ didn't want to spar with Tashigi, but Mihawk was currently his master now, and he had to do as his teacher said, no matter how much he might hate it. To be honest, he usually went along with any form of training that Mihawk threw at him, convinced that it would make him stronger, but in this case, he wasn't so sure.

Mihawk noted his reaction, but he usually didn't care for Zoro's opinion on his training methods, and continued, rather casually, "I watched Erika and her apprentice train yesterday. That woman doesn't have a chance of beating your Santoryu."

"That's what I thought," Zoro replied immediately.

"Even so," Mihawk continued, "she's skilled enough in Ittoryu that she'd make a good sparring partner for you in Ittoryu. Your Ittoryu right now is sloppy, so you'll be using one sword today."

"What?" Zoro replied, a slight hint of surprise in his voice.

Mihawk narrowed his eyes. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Ah- er, no, I don't." Zoro returned to his food, a slight frown on his face, and Mihawk heard him mutter under his breath, "but _she_ might."

"Who might, Roronoa?"

Zoro tried to deny that he said anything, but Mihawk was giving him a look that said that he wanted to know the answer. "Um… the Marine girl."

" _Her_ opinion is none my concern," said Mihawk brusquely. Honestly, it wasn't. If the Marine girl didn't like it, that was Erika's problem, not his. "Besides, she'll have a handicap of her own. She's going to fight blindfolded."

Zoro frowned. "Erika agreed to this?"

"She suggested it."

"But why?"

"Extra training, she said."

 _Is she sure about this?_ Zoro wondered. _That woman is so clumsy._

Even so, a blindfold meant that he wouldn't have to look at her face. He was fine with that.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Zoro and Mihawk met up with the others outside. Zoro joined Tashigi in kata practice for a warm up, while Erika chatted with Mihawk.

"All right you two," Erika spoke up after Zoro completed two hundred kata. "The two of you are going to spar against each other today. Both of you have things you need to work on. Zoro, you need to work on your Ittoryu. Tashigi, you're going to work on your concentration, focus and observation haki. Therefore, Zoro will be using one sword, and Tashigi will be fighting blindfolded. Zoro, if you want to use observation haki too, that's fine."

Zoro was surprised. Tashigi could use haki?

"No holding back, either of you," Erika added. "Now, ready? Good. Now bow, and – hajime*!"

Zoro quickly recovered from his surprise and unsheathed Wado Ichimonji. Kitetsu was too bloodthirsty for a spar, and Shuusui's heaviness seemed unnecessary. Besides, whenever he practiced Ittoryu, he usually used Wado. He held the sword out in from of him, both hands on the hilt, the blade pointing up, holding it right-handed. Tashigi assumed the same position.

They didn't move. With her face blissfully hidden from his view, he paid more attention to her guard. She was clearly alert, but not stiff, and she didn't appear to leave the slightest opening. As he observed her, Zoro became aware that something was off. He almost frowned. This situation was weird. He half expected Tashigi to come charging at him like a boar as she always does. But she stayed still.

Initially, Zoro had decided not to use haki- to him, fighting her while she was blindfolded already seemed easy. Even so, her behavior seemed so unnatural that Zoro almost reconsidered that decision.

He was just thinking about this when Tashigi attacked, and just as aggressively and quickly as could be expected from her. Before he knew what she was doing, her blade twisted his, and suddenly he was unarmed, Wado clanging as it fell on the ground a few feet away.

"One point for Tashigi!" sang Erika. Mihawk sent Zoro a reprimanding glare. Zoro, who was facing both Mihawk and Erika's direction, noticed the two and couldn't resist blushing with embarrassment. He went into this spar seriously underestimating Tashigi, but his blindfolded opponent managed to disarm him in seconds. He swore inwardly- he was so startled by Tashigi's behavior that he must have lowered his guard for a fraction of a second. If Tashigi used haki, then she would have sensed that. Dammit. The woman had clearly improved. He should have known better; after all, Erika did warn him, and she _was_ Tashigi's teacher.

He picked up his sword, and this time focused, trying to sense Tashigi's intentions with his haki. In the meantime, Tashigi returned to her former position, obviously trying to hide the huge grin that threatened to break through her façade of calm and focus on her face. Zoro was a little irritated by that – she was lucky! – but shoved his annoyance aside.

Zoro continued to search for any openings or any ideas as to her next move. Tashigi seemed to be planning to attack him again, but she was also alert. She was waiting for the right moment. He had to hand it to her, he never thought that Tashigi would actually have the patience to wait and anticipate her opponents' moves- she was the type who attacked first and asked questions later. She had changed.

This time, Zoro attacked before she tried again. He lifted his sword over his head and swung downwards. Tashigi blocked, her blade facing outward, held diagonally, and pointing downward. She stepped to the side, Zoro's sword sliding off her blade, then turned her sword over and attempted to cut his right wrist. Stepping back before she could do so, he twisted to face her, and in doing so lifted his sword and slashed diagonally downwards from the left. Tashigi's sword, which was low to the ground, rose, blade outward, to meet his in another block on her right. Zoro applied pressure, forcing her blade downward; she grunted, bending her knees to stand against his force. When she seemed distracted long enough, he tried a jab at her chest, but she anticipated it and shot backwards. Attacking again, he slashed downward from the right, but she stopped him before he could complete it, then burst forward, aiming to get in close and strike his stomach. She moved fast, but he managed to step back in time and defend.

Tashigi gritted her teeth in frustration.

As they continued, Zoro started to recall his lessons in Ittoryu and made some adjustments. He wasn't comfortable, he realized, to have both of his arms together in front of him at one point. He was more accustomed to having a sword in each hand and using them to cause as much destruction around him- in a wider range than he would have with one sword. Having them together on one hilt made him feel a little awkward and clumsy.

When compared to Tashigi's, he situation seemed incredibly ironic. She was doing rather well- so well that Zoro wondered if that blindfold was actually a handicap. Well, whether it was or not, he didn't mind- the fight was more interesting than he had anticipated.

He didn't expect a klutz like her to be fighting so gracefully with that blindfold on. Actually, she always fought gracefully- even when she wasn't wearing glasses. That woman always seemed completely oblivious to her surroundings most of the time and she was ridiculously clumsy, but in a fight, she never tripped over anything, and she was completely focused. Perhaps a fight focused her mind in a way no other situation did.

That intense focus- he could remember seeing it in _her_ eyes…

Zoro nearly grimaced. Dammit, with her blindfold on he couldn't see her face, so how on earth did this woman remind him of Kuina again?

As the fight continued, evading slashes, blocking cuts, and reacting to her speed, understanding slowly dawned on him. Her face was not the only thing. Her sword style, her grace, her focus, her wish to be born a boy- so many things about her reminded him of Kuina. Even their first duel was disturbingly similar to his last duel with Kuina. Both times, he had two swords, and his opponent had one. Both times, the loser was disarmed and a sword stabbed into the surface beside the loser's head. Only, the loser in each duel was different- in his last duel with Kuina, he lost, but in his first duel with Tashigi, Tashigi lost. The outcome of that duel was the complete opposite of his last one with Kuina. The coincidence was really creepy- as if fate had decided to give him a chance to redo that duel and change the outcome.

 _Regardless of however you felt about her, you need to remember_ , Erika's voice echoed in his head, _Kuina is_ dead _, and no matter what you do, nothing can change that._

He sighed inwardly. Yes, Kuina was dead, and nothing could change the outcome of their last duel together. The fact made his first duel with Tashigi feel even more like some sort of sadistic joke that fate played on him- he had fought with a woman who was so similar to Kuina, in appearance and skill, and as he learned later, views- and although he defeated her, she was _not_ Kuina. What was the point of that duel?

Thinking about the duel made him remember something else- Erika had asked him why he spared Tashigi. After beating Tashigi, Zoro didn't think much about it, other than he _definitely_ didn't spare her because she was a woman. Erika had suggested that he spared her because she looked like his friend Kuina. Well, he never really wanted to kill Kuina in their duels (although in the majority of them he couldn't kill her anyway, since they were using bamboo blades), just beat her. Even in their last duel with real swords, she didn't kill him- although she terrified the hell out of him when she jammed the sword into the ground dangerously close to his head.

 _Why didn't you kill me?_ Tashigi had shouted at him in Loguetown. He remembered her expressing anger, anger at losing and anger at not dying a shameless death. He perceived that when she spoke to him that day. Maybe that was why he avoided dueling with her afterwards- he couldn't give her the death she wanted. He never intended to kill Kuina, and he certainly didn't want her to die again- although that woman _wasn't_ Kuina.

The Marine girl's very existence pained him, not only because she made him recall so many painful memories, but also because she couldn't _beat_ him, while Kuina beat him every time. Did he leave her alive so that she could become stronger like his old rival?

Zoro contemplated this as continued his fight, noting Tashigi's newer skills- her one handed strikes, her increased speed. He wondered, would Kuina dodge gracefully like that, move as quickly as she did? He continued along this vein until at one point, Tashigi ran and leapt, attacking from above and throwing her weight to add force behind her attack. Zoro gritted his teeth as he blocked, easily throwing off her weight. Leaping. He couldn't recall Kuina ever leaping in a fight with him- although she didn't really need to, since at that time she was taller than him. Would Kuina ever do that? He tried to picture her leaping, but couldn't; instead he could only picture Tashigi leaping. He couldn't imagine it- after all, he never saw Kuina leap before.

He didn't know, he realized. He would never know, because Kuina was dead, and this woman wasn't Kuina.

He couldn't stand it- this woman was so much like Kuina that he kept thinking of her as Kuina, or comparing her to Kuina- but in the end she _wasn't_ Kuina, and these two facts just kept clashing against each other, causing endless frustration within him. Ugh! _Why did this woman have to exist?_

"Are you daydreaming, Roronoa?!" exclaimed Tashigi's angry voice. Looking up, he saw her attacking from the air again, sword raised over her head and prepared to block. Zoro raised his blade horizontally, one hand on the hilt, the other on the back of the blade, leaning into it as he blocked her again. Once again, he forced her back enough that he sent her flying through the air a few feet away. Tashigi landed gracefully, holding her sword out in front of her in her usual classic position, blade up, hands level at the waist, but this time her mouth was tight and the rest of her visible face seemed tense. Zoro didn't have to see her eyes to know what she was feeling.

"You seem annoyed," he remarked as he attacked, swinging the blade down diagonally from the left. Tashigi parried, and after a few more attacks and parries, she jumped back a bit.

Zoro only had to wonder for a second what she was doing when she spoke again, "Of course I'm annoyed! Now I see why you used two swords in Loguetown. Your skills with Ittoryu aren't bad, but I've still met better swordsmen with one sword than you!"

"Eeeeeeh?"

"Your arms aren't extended enough, and you seem slightly hesitant before you attack! Your nitoryu and santoryu are good, I'll grant you that. But still, how can you call yourself a swordsman if you can only handle one sword _this_ well?"

Zoro scowled. "Don't talk down at me, copycat woman! You haven't beaten me yet!" he snapped back.

"I know," she growled. "But that's not what frustrates me the most! I can't believe that the Wado Ichimonji is in the hands of someone whose Ittoryu is so… so… "

"What?"

"Average!"

"Oi, oi!" Zoro exclaimed, now irritated enough that a few veins popped out on his head. It couldn't be _that_ bad! Regaining his composure, he gave her a big cocky smile, forgetting that she couldn't see him at the moment. "Heh heh. Not good enough for it? Why don't you come and take it then?"

"I will!" Tashigi yelled back. "I'll take it the moment I finish this spar!" She ran towards him, then leapt so high above him he had to look up again, then swung her sword down forcefully. Zoro blocked, but before he could thrust her away again, she flipped over and landed behind him. He whirled, reversing his sword and slashing downwards, only for Tashigi's sword, held backwards over her head, to block him. Zoro's eyes widened; how could she pull such a reckless move? Exposing your back to the enemy was one of the stupidest and most dangerous things a swordsman could do! Yes, he'd done it before, in his fight with Ryuma, but at least he had some space between himself and the zombie samurai. Here, she was in close quarters with him. This move was insane!

Zoro pressed down, but his blade slid off and Tashigi tucked and rolled away carefully, blade in hand, before getting up on one knee and pivoting to block Zoro's next attack.

He found himself grinning, although he knew that Tashigi couldn't see it. The woman had improved, but she was still as reckless as ever. She almost reminded him of himself. What made her fight so hard? Did she really want to take his Wado away so badly?

 _In any case, with my Shigure, I'm going to polish my skills as a swordsman and someday gather all the legendary swords that are in the hands of criminals throughout the world!_ **

That was what she told him back in Loguetown. He didn't doubt her sincerity, but if she was the type of person that fought hard for her goals, was this one something that she would really fight hard for? Then again, he shouldn't judge- after all, that shitty cook wanted to find the All Blue, a dream he could only accomplish by sailing around the world looking for it while hoping in the meantime that it actually existed. At least he and the Marine girl could work to achieve their dreams, dreams that were based on things that they knew existed, knowing that with every achievement they make, they know for certain that they are at least one step closer, instead of searching, waiting, and hoping, like that curlybrow had to.

Her dream. Kuina's dream was to become the World's Greatest Swordsman. He didn't know whether Tashigi also had that same dream- he never asked, and she never told him. But her dream to save all the meitou from criminal hands- that was a dream that Kuina had never shared with him. He wasn't even sure if Kuina was quite as crazy about swords as the Marine girl; Kuina seemed much more interested in sharpening her skill rather than learning about swords themselves in depth.

 _Respect them for their_ own _will, because they are not carrying Kuina's will,_ Erika's voice said in his head.

Tashigi, now on both feet and using the power of a coiled spring from her bent knees, tried to shove his sword aside and go for his waist again, but Zoro quickly blocked her. They pushed hard against each other's blades, but eventually they both gave up and took a few steps back.

Zoro studied Tashigi's scowl as the woman held her sword before her, ready for the next move.

She's not Kuina.

 _They are not carrying Kuina's will. You do._

No, this woman wasn't Kuina- _he_ was Kuina. Er, well, in spirit anyway- he had her will, and that was the point.

He did tell Erika that he was going to achieve his dream for both his and Kuina's sake. He shared that same dream- that same position as Kuina before.

He blinked as an idea popped into his head. The same position- in that eerie duel that seemed so similar to that final one, so many years ago, he was pretty much in the same position in that duel as Kuina was in their last duel. He held Kuina's position now- was that what that duel was about? Was that what fate was trying to tell him?

Zoro resisted the urge to scratch his head in irritation. He could understand why some people got involved with religion now- at least religion tried to give some sort of concrete reasons for the weird coincidences in life. He never really needed to look towards religion to explain anything to him. To him, life was clear-cut. His goal was to become the Greatest Swordsman in the World. He was going to work his ass off until he did. He was either going to accomplish that dream or he was going to fail; but whichever happened, that was that. He never really worried about the reasons for the shit that happens, except maybe Kuina's death, at least not since then until this woman stumbled her way into his life.

Tashigi lifted her sword high over her head and attacked again. Zoro turned his sword downward and blocked, Tashigi's Shigure sliding off. Stepping into her guard, he swung his sword around in one fluid movement and stopped his sword at her throat.

Tashigi didn't move. She knew; she lost.

"One point to Zoro!" announced Erika. As Zoro and Tashigi stepped away from each other, she added, "That was quite a long spar. Why don't you two take a break? Tashigi, you might as well take your blindfold off for a minute so that your eyes don't become too accustomed to the dark."

Both students agreed. Zoro went to a broken-down wall to retrieve a towel and wipe himself down. He watched as Tashigi removed her blindfold, showing him that damn face again, and he had to clench his fists and remind himself all over again that she wasn't Kuina.

She's not Kuina.

She's not Kuina.

She's not Kuina- no.

No.

No.

NO.

She…

She was…

Tashigi tried to reach for her water bottle, also placed nearby on the broken wall, but grabbed a rock instead and tried to drink from it, nearly knocking her teeth out in the process. Erika reminded her with a yell that she didn't have her glasses on and went over to return them. Looking sheepish, Tashigi accepted them from her teacher and put them on. Zoro struggled to hide a smirk as he observed the scene.

She was… Tashigi.

She's Tashigi. Yeah, that was her name. Tashigi.

 _Tashigi._

* * *

*hajime- begin

** straight from the subtitled anime.

Author's note: Sorry I took so long on this chapter. I had school to finish, and after that I was having massive writer's block when it came to beginning the spar between Tashigi and Zoro. I want to give credit to Abigail Skywalker and her story _Zoro and Tashigi: Hard Lines_ for giving me the idea to have Tashigi fight Zoro blindfolded. It's a good story. I seriously believe that a blindfold could improve Tashigi's fighting- I think it would really help her focus and give her a different perspective on things, one that I intend to explore in the next chapter. I hope the fighting scenes are okay, and sorry I made Zoro lose… again…although he won next. In any case, I wanted to have them spar and for Zoro to work through some of his problems with Tashigi. Next, Tashigi will be working through her own problems with him. I hope the characters aren't too OOC. Lots of love and thanks to all of you who have reviewed, especially Polyamory and MawVax, who have been the most consistent. I feel so happy whenever someone gives a review! Please read and review!

Author's note: made some edits.


	6. Chapter 6: He's Zoro

Disclaimer: Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece and its characters, not me. I only own Erika. Pardon me for borrowing your stuff, Oda-sensei!

Warning: the characters might be OOC here- not really sure. Sorry if they are. Please tell me and I'll make it better.

Chapter 6

He's Roronoa Zoro

"What?"

Tashigi stared incredulously at her teacher.

"A training spar with Roronoa?"

"Yes, is there a problem with that?" Erika asked, twisting her head around to face her student. They were in Erika's bedroom, early in the morning. Erika was sitting in front of a dressing table with a mirror, brushing her ebony-black hair, while Tashigi stood by the doorway, hands balled into fists, as she stared back at her master.

"You told me that we're not going to arrest him, yet you're going to have me spar with him?"

"Fighting with him does not necessarily mean arresting him," Erika told her, turning to face the mirror. "And by the way, Mihawk said that he needs to work on his Ittoryu, so he'll be using one sword today."

There was no reply. After a whole silent minute, Erika turned around again to look at her apprentice and noticed that Tashigi's body was so tense, she seemed as stiff as a wooden statue. "Is something wrong?"

Tashigi frowned. "Mihawk told me last night that I don't treat Roronoa like a proper opponent, that I'm not as serious as I say I am. Well, I want to face him seriously, but only in a fair fight. And that means that he uses all three of his swords."

Erika gave her a slight grin before she turned back to the mirror and stood up. She bent down and tossed her hair forward, so that it hung it over her face, then gave it a few brushes before she gathered it up in one fist at a certain place on her head and tossed it back. A hair tie was quickly pulled in place, forming a ponytail that perched high on the back of her head.

"You're as honorable as ever, Tashigi," Erika said finally. She separated her hair into three parts, preparing to braid it. "However, I would advise you against fighting Zoro's Santoryu right now. Quite frankly, you will lose if you did."

Tashigi felt a sharp pain in her chest, in her heart. She knew that her master was not one to soften her words; she was always very blunt. She knew that Erika did not intend to hurt her feelings, only make her opinions clear, but her master's words hurt all the same. Tashigi's fists clenched a little harder. "You don't know that!" she protested, a bit of anger raising her voice.

Erika was focused on her hair at the moment and didn't look back at her apprentice. However, she said, "What, do you think I challenged Zoro yesterday just for kicks? I wanted to see how strong he was in comparison to you. You still have a lot to learn, and you aren't ready to face his Santoryu just yet. And after seeing our training sessions yesterday, Mihawk agrees."

Tashigi's nails were starting to dig into the skin of her palms. "So you decided that we would spar with one sword each."

"Oh, and you'll be blindfolded too," Erika added, still concentrating on blindly braiding her ponytail.

" _What?!_ " Tashigi squeezed her fists a little too hard. "Ow!"

Erika finally glanced back at her at that, mildly concerned. "What happened?"

"Nothing, it's nothing." Her fingernails had broken the skin in her palms and a little blood seeped out. Feeling embarrassed, she hid her hands behind her back, then regained some of her anger. "Are you trying to make this easier for me?" she demanded. "No matter how many times I would win in a match like that, I don't think I could ever feel that I earned the Wado Ichimonji from him properly!"

She didn't know much about Zoro's skill with one sword, but she figured that he would at least be less powerful than he would be with three swords. Furthermore, she didn't know the extant of the advantage that being blindfolded would give her, but she did know that she was much better with a blindfold than without. The match sounded suspiciously like it was set up to give her an edge, but the idea seemed almost ludicrous, considering the training that Erika had put her through in the last two months. Tashigi learned rather quickly at the time that Erika was a harsh and strict taskmaster who made every exercise as difficult as possible for her.

Erika raised an eyebrow. "I didn't bring you here to settle your score with Zoro or to help you get his Wado, Tashigi," she told her sternly. Seating herself, she brought her ponytail over her shoulder to her front and continued to braid her hair. "I brought you here to train. This spar is a training spar, understand? The purpose here is learning, not winning."

"Learning?"

"Yes. I want you to learn more about your opponent."

Mihawk did say that in order to defeat a tougher opponent, one would have to learn more about them. "Learn what, exactly?" she asked. His skills or…

Erika only gave her an enigmatic smile, which Tashigi found a bit exasperating. "That's up to you to find out."

* * *

Erika's words resonated with Tashigi as she faced off with Zoro in their second spar. As she traded blows with him, she tried to sort through the things that she had learned about Zoro so far.

Well, the first thing that came to mind was that he obviously underestimated her. She'd quickly taught him that that was a mistake, although she didn't expect to be so successful. A triumphant feeling rose in her chest when she disarmed him right off the bat, but when they proceeded into their second spar, Zoro proved to be a tougher opponent, and was clearly taking her seriously, and she almost wondered if he had handed the first match to her on purpose. Surely he wouldn't allow such a thing to happen under normal circumstances… no, he had underestimated her, she was certain of that. She discerned that when she used her haki to check his guard. Yes, he did…um, incapacitate- Tashigi refused to think defeat- her back at Loguetown, but that still was no reason to underestimate her now.

 _It's probably because I'm a woman…_

Tashigi pushed that thought away; it was a thought that automatically came up whenever she thought a male opponent wasn't taking her seriously. No, he wasn't soft on women; Erika's fight with him the other day proved that. Both before and after Erika's "I'm going to kill you" glare, he was serious, fighting with all three swords; the difference between the two was that after Erika gave him her signature glare, he fought with a lot more desperation, like his life was on the line.

After seeing one of her strongest convictions about Zoro crumble to pieces in that fight, Tashigi wasn't sure what to think. Before, she was convinced that Zoro was just like every other sexually-biased male swordsman she encountered- a strong, self assured, arrogant man who couldn't cut women for whatever "chivalrous" reason he had. She had many reasons to fight against him- he had the Wado Ichimonji and he was a pirate. She also felt guilty and responsible for helping him choose two new swords and taking him into a Marine base, and never realizing his identity until later. She also couldn't help but feel somewhat betrayed; when she helped him choose his swords, Tashigi thought he was a respectable swordsman, one who wasn't an outlaw or a pirate, and she helped him for that reason. Yes, she never asked his name, and he never told her, but she couldn't help but feel used all the same.

When she faced him down in Loguetown, she had every intention of fixing her mistakes by catching him and taking away his swords. But he quickly and easily brought her to her knees, and to top it off, he didn't injure her or kill her. The shame of defeat, of failure, was the breaking point for her. Ever since then, she wanted nothing else but to catch him, defeat him, prove to everyone, including him, that she was strong, that a woman should be taken seriously.

So why did he spare her, if he wasn't soft on women? Unless he learned to take women seriously on the Grand Line… but from what she knew, all of his battles since their encounter in Loguetown were with men… but the Marines weren't everywhere…

She frowned as another block threw her back. Regardless of whether he was soft on women back then, he should be taking them seriously now, but… what was this? His skill with one sword was good, but there was something off. Predicting his moves with her haki, and through defending and attacking, she could tell that he knew many complicated moves, but it didn't seem right… the timing was off, and the force felt all wrong, like he was executing his moves clumsily. But that couldn't be right, he was probably more skilled than this!

 _Was he being soft on her again?_

The thought was infuriating, and she felt rage climb up from her chest, which she quickly shoved back down. She had no idea whether her presumption was true, and both Erika and Mihawk had warned her that she needed to understand people properly before judging them. She couldn't jump to conclusions just yet. She couldn't ask though; whether she was wrong or right, he would probably deny it all the same. There was one other way…

She concentrated on her haki, trying to strengthen it so she could sense his emotions in more detail. At that moment, she was blocking one of his attacks and they drew closer to each other, allowing her to sense his feelings better-

A sick feeling emerged in Tashigi's stomach.

 _Pain._

For a moment, Tashigi thought she was going to cry. Something seemed to be squeezing her heart, breaking it, wringing it, dragging it into her stomach.

Pain… not physical pain, but emotional pain, and the more she felt it, the more complex she found it. She could sense heartbreak, sadness, confusion, frustration, anguish, uncertainty… and from what she could tell, it wasn't recent pain either, it was like the pain of an old wound. The most prominent thing about this pain, however, was that it was directed towards her. No, that wasn't right- it wasn't directed towards her, but she could tell that she had something to do with it. Something about it resonated very strongly with her.

After he pushed her back again, she ran and leapt, attacking from the air this time, but he threw her off. As she landed, she withdrew her haki and tried to sort through the feelings she discovered. Such emotional pain would be this strong only when it was at the forefront of his mind. He was thinking about it now, so… was it distracting him?

"Are you daydreaming, Roronoa?!" she exclaimed angrily. She ran and leapt again, sword raised over her head and prepared to strike. With her haki she could sense his blocking method; his blade was raised horizontally, one hand on the hilt, the other on the back of the blade, leaning into it as he blocked her again. Once again, he forced her back enough that he sent her flying through the air a few feet away. Tashigi landed gracefully, holding her sword out in front of her in her usual classic position, blade up, hands level at the waist, but this time her mouth was tight and her face tensed.

"You seem annoyed," Zoro's voice remarked. She sensed his attack- left diagonal slash. As she parried Tashigi sent her haki out again. This time she only wanted to know his feelings with regard to his attacks. Ah, there it was- hesitation, uncertainty. He was rusty. If she didn't have the blindfold on, Tashigi would have blinked in puzzlement. Rusty? Seriously? _Him?_

After a few more attacks and parries, she jumped back a bit. "Of course I'm annoyed!" she snapped. "Now I see why you used two swords in Loguetown. Your skills with Ittoryu aren't bad, but I've still met better swordsmen with one sword than you!"

"Eeeeeeh?" was his disbelieving reply.

"Your arms aren't extended enough, and you seem slightly hesitant before you attack! Your Nitoryu and Santoryu are good, I'll grant you that. But still, how can you call yourself a swordsman if you can only handle one sword _this_ well?"

"Don't talk down at me, copycat woman! You haven't beaten me yet!" he snapped back.

"I know," she growled. "But that's not what frustrates me the most! I can't believe that the Wado Ichimonji is in the hands of someone whose Ittoryu is so… so… "

"What?"

"Average!"

Ok, that was pushing it. She didn't think he was average, but it annoyed her to no end that he allowed his Ittoryu skills to get so rusty.

"Oi, oi!" Zoro exclaimed, aggravated. After a few seconds of silence, she heard him continue in a cocky voice, "Heh heh. Not good enough for it? Why don't you come and take it then?"

"I will!" Tashigi yelled back. "I'll take it the moment I finish this spar!" She ran towards him, jumped, then swung her sword down forcefully. Zoro blocked, but before he could thrust her away again, she flipped over and landed behind him. Realizing her back was towards the enemy, she quickly threw up the sword over her head behind her, just in time to meet his as it came down without a further second of hesitation. She grinned to herself when she felt his sword clash with hers. Now this was more like it!

* * *

Golden mist drifted before her unfocused eyes. Dazed, Tashigi stared up into the fog, soaked in the rays of the vanishing sunset.

She'd been lying, sprawled out on the ground for what felt like ages, staring up at the sky. The sight of golden mist, however, seemed to finally snap her back to reality. Someone had replaced her blindfold with her glasses.

She tried to lift her head, but it felt so heavy. She never felt this tired before, not even after Erika's god-forsaken training regimens. She tried to move her hand next, and succeeded in lifting it a few inches off the ground.

"Finally regained your senses?" came Erika's voice. Tashigi struggled to raise her head to make eye contact with her teacher.

"What?" she croaked.

"You fell unconscious at the end of the last spar. You've been on the ground like that for the last twenty minutes."

Twenty minutes? How did such a short amount of time feel like ages?

"Since you've regained your senses, I'm going to head back to the castle. The boys and Perona have already gone back. Do you want to get up? I don't mind if you want to stay down and ponder the mystery of life, but if you do that, the monkeys will be sure to attack. We're far enough away from the castle that they would near us."

"No need… to motivate me," Tashigi grunted. She knew that Erika wasn't going to help her; she never did. Summoning every last bit of willpower she had, she lifted her trembling arms off the ground, then rested them behind her, trying to prop herself up on her elbows. With both her body and breath quivering, she threw her torso forward in an attempt to sit upright. Afterwards, she just sat there, curling her legs inwards, trying to catch her breath and recoup some of her strength.

Next she tried to stand up. Placing a violently trembling arm on the ground, she leaned as she pulled out her opposite leg and bent it as she planted her foot on the ground. Pushing herself forward and pivoting on her planted foot, she quickly lifted her other leg, stretched it out behind and planted her foot on the ground. Afterwards she leaned back on it to regain her balance. She straightened, trying to hold her legs firm, though they were shaking from exhaustion. For a while she just stood there, panting, once again trying to gather her strength.

She took a few tottering steps forward, in danger of falling on her face due to the way she was leaning forward, before a nagging thought came to mind, stopping her. she straightened and looked around. "Shigure…"

"I have it," came Erika's prompt response. Tashigi turned to see Erika a few steps ahead of her, holding her beloved Shigure sheathed. Erika swiftly turned around again as she added, "Now, let's get going, or the boys will be done with dinner by the time we get back."

Tashigi grunted in agreement, then attempted to walk again. She continued to take steps forward, but no matter how many she took, they never seemed to get easier. After a dozen or so paces, her legs felt funny, as if they were made of both lead and clouds at the same time, and held up by a taut string that, on her thirteenth step, suddenly snapped and collapsed. Before her body fell to the ground, a hand caught her under her armpit. Tashigi found herself staring at Erika's booted feet, only a step away in front of her.

"Worn out, huh?" Erika commented conversationally.

Tashigi let a small sigh escape her lips before steeling herself to move her limbs again. Every attempt to move was harder than the last. Worn out didn't even begin to describe her exhaustion.

"Well, I don't blame you," said Erika, "I don't think I ever saw you fight so hard since I met you!"

Tashigi wondered at the energy in her teacher's voice; being as tired as she was, she couldn't believe that anything else around her could have any energy. And at the end of the day, too!

She realized that her teacher had moved behind her, her hand now holding her shoulder in a firm grip and pushing her forward. Obeying her master's prompting, she forced her legs to move forward again. Her master's hand seemed to lend her a sort of strength, and their journey started to pick up speed.

She felt a little embarrassed that her master, who usually didn't help her, was now giving her assistance. Her master's assistance was really unnecessary; she could just lean on Shigure and use it to help her get back to the castle. However, she was too tired to protest, and allowed her master to guide her around corners and pieces of rubble as she listened to Erika's babbling.

"…quite impressive. Even though Zoro seemed rusty at first and smoothed out the wrinkles later on, there were three draws and three losses…"

Her weary brain took a while to grasp her teacher's words. Almost half a minute passed before Tashigi started in realization and rasped, "Three… draws?"

"Yes, the last round was a draw. You sent his sword flying just as he knocked you down."

She couldn't remember that; she must have closed her eyes before that happened. If only she stayed awake, she could have won that round…

"So," her teacher continued, her tone indicating that she was about to continue the subject, "did you learn anything?"

 _Why_ did her teacher have to push her all the time? When she couldn't push her body anymore, her teacher made her push her mind…

She tried to get her thoughts together. "His Ittoryu… was rusty…"

"I'm not talking about that. Did you learn anything about Zoro?"

"Zoro…Roro…noa…" Tashigi mumbled, trying to make her mind recall different information. A minute passed before she could tell anything. "I…I caused him… pain…" Her voice hitched on the last word as she recalled the emotional turmoil that she sensed in him. "He seemed… pained… about me…"

"Why do you think that is?"

Tashigi groaned inwardly. She didn't know, she was too tired to think! Forgetting to respond, she let her mind drift, pondering every now and then on her teacher's question, until a familiar voice floated through her head.

 _I don't like your very being!*_

Her eyes widened, and she stopped moving, the phrase echoing through her head as she tried to remember. What did he say that day?

 _Listen! Your face! It looks exactly like my close friend's who died long ago! And on top of that, you started saying the same thing she used to say! Don't imitate, you copycat woman!**_

At the time, the things he said seemed sort of impulsive and immature, so she didn't take them too seriously. Heck, there were times afterward where she thought that he had said that only to avoid admitting that he refused to hurt her because she was a woman.

But then in Alabasta…

 _And quit it with that face, will ya?!***_

That time she thought he was mocking her, but now…

"Tashigi?" her teacher's voice brought her back to the present.

"He said something… about me… looking and acting like a dead friend of his…" she replied.

"Yeah, you told me this before," Erika said.

"I didn't… really… believe him that time, though," Tashigi went on. She tried to look over her shoulder at her teacher. "Do you think that's it?" Somehow, she could barely believe it. Next to sexism, Zoro's reason not to fight her seemed so simple. Or it seemed that way in her tired mind at the moment.

Erika shrugged. "I don't know, but that sounds like a good theory. Why don't you ask him?"

Tashigi's face reddened. Somehow the idea just seemed embarrassing. It just seemed too personal and intrusive. Yes, perhaps, as being the cause of his problem, she was already in the middle, but she wasn't sure whether she should pry any deeper into this.

"If it's true," she continued, giving no answer to her teacher's question and feeling a rise in her energy, "what can I do to change his mind? To convince him that I'm not _her_?"

"There's nothing you can do," her teacher replied, blunt as ever.

Tashigi scowled. She had been in many situations in which she could do nothing. She hated failing, hated feeling like she was powerless to do anything. Heck, she started training because she wanted to put an end to that feeling. "No! Don't tell me that! There's got to be-."

"It's not like you're too weak to do anything, Tashigi," Erika interrupted, as if she were reading Tashigi's mind. "His problem may affect you, but in the end, it's _his_ problem. I'm not saying that you shouldn't help people with their problems, but there are some issues that people create for themselves that they can only resolve on their own. The best thing you can do is make him confront it in some way, and by being around him, you're already doing that. Just be yourself and let him work it out." Her hand pushed on her shoulder, making Tashigi move forward again.

"I hate it when I can't do anything," Tashigi mumbled as she shuffled forward.

"I know," Erika replied. "But that doesn't always mean you're too weak."

Tashigi found that hard to swallow, and not because she naively believed that strength was needed to accomplish anything- the need for strength was a lesson that she learned the hard way, back in Loguetown and in Alabasta.

For some reason, his voice came back to her mind…

 _Back at Sabaody, we couldn't fight against that admiral who showed up, or against Kuma, and because of my weakness, I ended up here!_

 _But I know Luffy's alive, and I need to help him! But right now, I'm way too weak to help him!_

 _I need to get stronger, so I asked Mihawk to train me!_

"It's odd…" she murmured as she made her way around another pile of rubble.

"What is?" Erika asked.

"Ever since I got here, I've witnessed him getting defeated, first by you, then… um… by me…"

"Yeah?"

"And then, the things he said when I asked him yesterday… and now, not wanting to fight me because I look like an old friend of his…and then his rusty Ittoryu…"

"Uh-huh…"

"It's just weird," Tashigi went on, "to see him like that."

"How's it weird? Didn't he lose it and get into an argument with you back in Loguetown? And didn't he run away from you in Alabasta?"

"Well, yes, but still…"

"But still?"

"It's just weird to see him weak like that."

"Weak?"

"Yes. I mean, he's called 'Pirate Hunter Zoro' and the 'Demon of the East Blue;' he d- he held me off in Loguetown; his bounty's doubled ever since he first got one in Alabasta, and he helped lay waste to Enies Lobby. With a man like that, it's so much easier to believe that he refused to fight me seriously due to principle rather than an inner conflict! And with his skill, how could he be so rusty in his Ittoryu?"

Erika chuckled. "It is hard to accept that the enemy who defeated you could have weaknesses or failures."

"He didn't defeat me!" Tashigi replied indignantly.

"But still, all the same, it's good to find their weaknesses," Erika went on.

"I know," Tashigi sighed, "because targeting a weakness can be the key to ending a fight."

"Well, it's not only that," Erika said. "It's important to recognize your enemies' strengths, because that's what makes them special. And it's important to recognize their weaknesses, because that's what makes them human. Or, in a broader sense, mortal."

Tashigi said nothing, only remained silent as her teacher continued to steer her towards the castle. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally entered the castle and a short while later arrived in the dining room.

Mihawk was nowhere to be seen. Perona was there, sewing what appeared to be a stuffed animal, though Tashigi didn't understand why it needed a surgical mask. Nearby, leaning against the wall with his arms folded behind his head and his swords lined up against the wall at his side, Zoro was sound asleep and snoring loudly.

"We're back!" Erika announced cheerfully.

Perona yelped; she had accidentally pricked her finger on her needle. "Ow!" She glared at the two newly arrived women. "What are you doing here? I didn't expect you to be back so soon, not after seeing the marine girl like that. I half expected her to come here leaning on her sword like Zoro does after training. He looks s _o_ pathetic like that, but still not cute." Zoro's snoring hitched at that, making Tashigi wonder if he was really as sound asleep as he appeared.

"Are there any leftovers for us?" Erika asked, clearly assuming that they had missed dinner. She finally released Tashigi's shoulder, leaving her to support herself against the doorway. She was embarrassed at first that her master had supported her in such a way, but now she was grateful- by doing so, she helped Tashigi retain at least some measure of dignity.

"Mihawk said that you two wouldn't be back for awhile and shut himself up in the library, and Zoro went straight to sleep while I was changing his bandages. He hasn't woken up since, so I haven't cooked anything yet," Perona explained.

"What about Smoker?"

"He's in his room, as far as I know."

"Is that so? Well, since we're still awake and energetic, let's go make something now. I'm sure everyone's starved."

"You can cook?" Perona asked. The night before, she had made the meal.

"As a bounty hunter, I'm often on my own, so I usually cook my own meals. Come on, let's get started." As Perona got up from her seat, Erika turned back to Tashigi. "It looks like Zoro's got the right idea. Can you walk to your room from here? Can you carry Shigure?" Tashigi managed a nod. "You look too tired to sit and eat; just go to sleep now, and I'll bring you something to eat later."

Tashigi nodded again, accepted Shigure from Erika, and, after making sure that Perona was in the kitchen and out of sight (and that Zoro had his eyes firmly closed) she leaned a little on her Shigure as she made her way over to the doorway, which led to the hall where the stairs were.

Before she exited the room, she turned to look at Zoro, still fast asleep, his bandaged chest rising and falling with his breath. She'd seen him asleep before, but only briefly back in Alabasta, when she discovered the Straw Hat crew all unconscious in the street. Back then she didn't get a good look at his face. Looking at it now, it was totally relaxed, with no cocky smiles or angry frowns disrupting it. He looked so serene, so peaceful, which was hard to believe, since, going by reputation, he was anything but a peaceful man.

Well, it wasn't only by reputation, but also by experience that she knew he wasn't a peaceful man. As a swordsman, he was practically the demon everyone said he was. Plus he was cocky and arrogant. But also by experience, she knew that he was willing to fight a woman, and he had his weaknesses, his worries, his concern for his friends, his conflicts, his pain, and his sorrows. He was, as Erika said, human.

Oh, right. He was _human_.

Tashigi didn't know why such a simple fact was so hard to accept in regard to this man. Or, rather, it wasn't that she didn't accept it; she just forgot. Zoro's inhuman strength and notorious reputation made forgetting he was human so easy.

 _Look, I've got my own circumstances too!_ he yelled at her back in Alabasta.****

And he did, as she soon discovered then. As she discovered now.

She really couldn't judge him based on assumption or rumor or reputation. What she saw and heard now, what she sensed with her haki… they gave her a different image of the man she was so keen to beat.

People referred to him as "Pirate Hunter Zoro" or "Demon of the East Blue," but here, she only saw Roronoa Zoro.

 _He's Roronoa Zoro._

 _And I will beat him one day._

* * *

*and ** anime episode 53

*** and **** anime episode 105

Author's note: In case anyone is confused as to why Erika doesn't seem to know the context of Zoro's problem in this chapter after dragging it from in chapter four; she does know, but she just doesn't give Tashigi the straight answer. She rarely ever does. Of course, I'm sure that was really obvious, but just in case…

Author's note: Hi guys, sorry for taking so long to update, been really busy lately. I'm rewarding your patience with two chapters this time! I've been busy with all sorts of stuff, including moving with my family from one house to my original house, which was exhausting. Plus I had lots of writer's block with Tashigi. Sorry there aren't many fighting scenes in this one; perhaps there should be more, but I think I like how it turned out. Still, the fighting scenes in this chapter and the last one could use some improvement, I believe. I think once I finish this story I'll go back over it. Btw, if you think I was pushing it with the way I had Tashigi use haki here, don't be afraid to say so.

Well, enough of bashing Zoro and Tashigi into the ground (at least for now. I dislike it, but I plan to make them rise like phoenixes from the ashes I keep grinding them into, and hopefully all of this will be worth it). The chapter after this one ramps up the action. I hope you like it! I can't wait to hear what you've got to say! Also, thank you to everyone who has favorite and reviewed my work! Seriously, you don't know how happy it makes me!

Please RxR!


	7. Chapter 7: Lost

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or its characters; Eiichiro Oda does. I own Erika!

Warning: Characters might be OOC, I don't know, please tell me.

Chapter 7

Lost

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

The shrill screech startled Zoro from his slumber. A few days had passed since his first spar with Tashigi. Since then, they had undergone some other training together, involving many different exercises that left Zoro feeling pretty tired. Not that it mattered, really- training always tired him out.

He got up, dressed and went downstairs, where he discovered a scene so filled with tension that it felt like something was going to explode any moment.

Erika, Tashigi, Smoker and Mihawk were all in the dining room. Erika was holding a Marine-issued den-den mushi with a death-like grip, her face contorted with a mixture of anger, exasperation and worry. Smoker and Tashigi watched her; Smoker furrowing his brow and biting harder than usual on his cigar, and Tashigi, teeth clenched and gripping her Shigure with both hands so tightly that her knuckles turned white, with an anxious and fearful look on her face.

Mihawk looked unconcerned and was eating his breakfast with seemingly detached calm as usual, but every now and then his eyes flickered over to Erika for a few seconds and Zoro could tell he was somewhat interested in what was happening.

"What's going on?" Zoro asked. Tashigi turned to him, her grip on Shigure loosening, and she put a finger to her lips signaling for silence. Zoro took the hint, sat down at his place at the table and helped himself to breakfast.

"SERIOUSLY! WHAT THE HELL!" Erika turned her angry face to Smoker. "SMOKER! DIDN'T YOU TELL EVERYONE ON THE SHIP TO STAY OFF THIS ISLAND?!"

"OF COURSE I DID! YOU WERE THERE WHEN I MADE THAT ORDER!" Smoker growled back.

"ARE YOU SURE EVERYONE WAS PRESENT?!"

"YES, WOMAN, OF COURSE I DID!"

"THEN WHAT THE HELL DO THOSE FOUR IDIOTS THINK THEY'RE DOING?"

"WEREN'T YOU LISTENING, WOMAN?! THEY PRPBABLY GOT LOST BECAUSE OF THE DAMN FOG!"

"ARGH!" Erika turned back to the den-den mushi, which now had a wide-eyed, panicked expression on its face. Zoro figured that that the man on the other end of line was probably scared out of his wits. "YOU! DID YOU SEE WHERE THEY DISAPPEARED OFF TO?!"

"We-we-we-we-" the voice stammered.

"Stop stammering and tell us, soldier!" Smoker barked, terrifying the poor subordinate on the other end even more.

"We-we s-saw their boat heading the direction of the dock. But we don't know whether they got there… there's some really thick fog this morning. It hasn't cleared up yet, so we don't know where they are."

Erika let out another angry groan, but she seemed a little calmer now. "Great, we'll have to go find them! You, tell the one in charge that the ship is not to leave its position! If the fog clears, then send out some search parties in the other dinghies. Paddle around the island, but _do not_ come ashore! If you see any of the kids or their boat, tell us with the baby den-den mushis, and stick around to keep an eye on them or follow them if they're moving, but no matter what, _DO NOT_ come ashore! Do you hear me?!"

"Y-y-y-y-yes, ma'am!" squeaked the terrified soldier's voice.

"Oi! I'm supposed to be the one giving the orders!" Smoker snapped.

"Then give them, dammit!" Erika bit back, tossing the poor den-den mushi to Smoker. "Do you have any better ideas?"

Smoker glared. "No!"

"Um…" the soldier's voice sounded unsure and confused. "Um… your orders, sir?"

"Just do what the damn woman said! That's an order!" Smoker barked. "And whatever you do, do not come ashore! It's too dangerous! Understand?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good. Smoker out." Smoker put the snail away.

"Er… what's going on?" Zoro asked, confused. The tension was still as taut as a string on a violin, but Zoro was the kind of man who didn't care whether people snapped at him- unless that person was Nami, of course.

"None of your business," Smoker replied harshly.

Tashigi spoke up. "Smoker-san, he should know too, in case he comes across those kids…"

Erika "mmed" in agreement and raised her eyes to look at Zoro. "Four kids- three cabin boys and a cabin girl- all went out fishing on one of the ship's dinghies with two other adult Marines. Because of the fog, they stayed in view of the ship. Apparently, a sea monster took the bait on one of lines, and it jerked so hard that the two adult marines fell overboard. The sea monster surfaced and it looks like the kids let go of the fishing pole they caught it with, and paddled away as fast as possible. However, it seems that in their panic, the kids got lost in the fog or something and headed towards the island. They were last seen heading in the direction of the docks here when they disappeared into the fog."

Zoro frowned. "Heading for the island? You mean the ship isn't at the docks?"

Erika shook her head. "There's too much of a risk that the monkeys would try to target the ship if we anchored at the docks. I know that they won't touch Mihawk's boat, but that doesn't mean they won't try to attack our ship. I also didn't want to risk the men leaving the ship and exploring the island out of curiosity. So we let down the anchor some ways away from shore and had a dinghy drop us off."

"None of our men are a match for the monkeys, especially those kids," Tashigi added, worry in her eyes. She stood up. "We need to go now and find them! If the monkeys find them…!"

"Right, let's go." Erika turned to Mihawk. "Mihawk, do you want to come too?"

"No."

Erika had calmed down, but her fury seemed to jump up once more. "You cold-hearted bastard! You never want to make things easier, do you?" she snapped. Mihawk didn't reply, and Erika clearly didn't expect him to, as she turned away from him immediately after her outburst. "Come on, Smoker, Tashigi, let's go."

Only a few seconds after they had vacated the room, Zoro stuffed one last piece of sausage in his mouth, stood up and headed to the doorway to follow them.

"Where do you think you're going, Roronoa?" Mihawk calmly inquired.

Zoro froze, unsure how to answer. He didn't want to look soft in front of his teacher.

"Uh, training," he replied. "I haven't sparred against those monkeys in awhile."

Mihawk snorted, an action that told Zoro that Mihawk was not duped and had seen through his intentions. "You'd better stay here, too, Roronoa."

"Eh?!"

"I made those two Marines promise me that they will not inform headquarters of your presence here, in exchange for staying here. It would just be too much trouble for me if the rest of the Marines found out about you," Mihawk told him. "But a secret is best kept as long as few people as possible know about it. If you go and help them, the Marine children could see you, and there's no guarantee that they'll keep their mouths shut."

Oh, so that's why Mihawk let them stay here. He scowled, putting the thought away, and considered staying inside until the whole thing blew over, but only for about two seconds. He wasn't the type of man who sat around during an emergency (unless it was something that he felt someone else could handle, or if he thought the situation was well in hand), and besides, this situation was a change of pace from all the training that happened on the island and he wanted a part of it. Besides, as he stated before, it had been some time since he last sparred with the monkeys.

He glowered at Mihawk and growled, "Who said I was going to help them? I'm just going to train with the monkeys! And I'll keep out of sight!" He left, grumbling under his breath.

"Stay out of sight, and don't let those children or the Marines see you," Mihawk called after him. Zoro mumbled an acknowledgement in reply, at which Mihawk smirked and rolled his eyes. No matter how stoic and uncaring Zoro tried to appear, Mihawk could read him like a book, and had done so since day one of their acquaintance.

Zoro figured that the trio would go to the docks first, and headed for that path, taking cover in the dense forest that lined it to stay out of sight. He intended to run through the forest while keeping the path in sight, but once he was in the forest, the path had strangely disappeared, and he ran as fast as he could in any direction until he found the path again. However, he found it after fighting through an extremely dense web of vines, losing his footing as he fought to get through, and stumbled through the opening he made, finding himself on the path once more.

He stood up and looked around hurriedly, trying to see if the trio had passed this way already, but was surprised when someone said, "What the- Zoro?"

He turned around to find the trio running up behind him. "What are you guys doing? Aren't you guys going the wrong way?" For once, his tumble and not his hopeless sense of direction was responsible for his confusion. Or so he'd like to think.

"We've been following the path in the same direction since we left. You're the one who's going the wrong way!" Erika replied. She stopped in front of him and frowned. "Why are you here? And how did you get ahead of us?"

Zoro shrugged. "I don't know. Anyway, I'm just here to train against the monkeys. I haven't sparred against them in awhile."

"Do you ever do anything other than training?" Tashigi demanded, sounding annoyed.

Erika laughed. "Yeah, training. I'm sure." She gave Zoro an appraising grin. "You're such a kind man."

"What?" Zoro and Tashigi said together.

"What the hell's keeping you?!" Smoker yelled. He had already gone ahead, and was now yelling over his shoulder as he ran. "Hurry up! We have to get to the docks as soon as possible!"

"Right!" Erika shouted back, and started running after him, the other two quickly joining her. She grinned at Zoro. "I was concerned that the monkeys might attack and delay us. If you can keep them off our backs, that would be helpful."

Zoro just grunted in reply. That woman had definitely seen through his intentions. He returned to the forest, intending to stay hidden. They followed the path like that, until Tashigi noticed Zoro veering off into another direction. Since she didn't sense a monkey with her haki, she hurried after him and grabbed his shirt from behind. "What are you doing?" she demanded, trying to drag him back to the path.

"I'm taking a shortcut," Zoro snapped back, irritated.

"Oh no you don't!" Tashigi retorted, dragging him back to the path. "I heard plenty about you from my men in Alabasta! Your sense of direction is hopeless!"

"Eeeeh?"

"Honestly, someone like you shouldn't try to make shortcuts! In fact, the only cuts you should worry about are the ones you make with your sword!"

Erika laughed. "Ahahaha! Good one Tashigi!"

"Shut up!" Zoro snapped, turning red.

They passed several monkeys, all apparently unconscious. Tashigi guessed that Smoker must have knocked them out by choking them with his smoke. Zoro saw the docks appear up ahead and was about to return to the forest to stay out of sight, but noticed that only Mihawk's boat was docked there, and only Smoker stood on the docks. Seeing no one else around, Zoro decided to join the others.

"The boat's not here," Smoker was saying when Zoro caught up to them.

"I guess you were right, they must've gotten lost due to the fog," Erika remarked. She turned to the others and noticed Zoro. "Oh, Zoro, you're still with us? Good, we'll need your help." Her attitude suddenly became much more serious. "We'll have to split up from here and go in different directions. Tashigi, you'll go with Zoro-,"

"WHAT?!" exclaimed the other three.

"Why should I go with him?" Tashigi wanted to know. She understood Zoro a little better now, but she still found him pretty annoying.

"We'll need Smoker to search from the air. Zoro can't go alone; he can't let the kids see him. Besides, even if that wasn't a problem, he'll also probably get lost and he might turn around and head in the other direction, which is counterproductive."

"Oi!"

"Tashigi can't go alone either," Erika continued, ignoring Zoro's snarl of irritation. "She's strong enough to hold off most of the monkeys, but if she finds the kids, she'll need some help. Especially if at least one of them is injured."

"Yeah, and some of these monkeys are damn strong," Zoro added. "One of them started copying my techniques not long after I started fighting them, and another, the leader, can imitate Mihawk's techniques, and I _still_ haven't beaten him yet."

"Wait," said Tashigi. "So, you lost?"

Zoro suddenly realized what he said. "I didn't lose!"

"Enough," Erika said, intervening before another argument broke out. "Zoro, Tashigi, you go left and I'll go right. We'll follow the beach and try to find the boat first. Chances are the kids are still with it if they came ashore. We'll communicate with the baby den-den mushis. Smoker, go as high as you can and look for any sign of the boat or the kids."

"You're going alone?" asked Zoro, a bit surprised.

"I can handle the monkeys fine on my own," Erika replied. "Now let's go!"

Author's note: Please read and review!


	8. Chapter 8: Uneasy Discoveries

Sorry this took so long! I went back to school and have been busy with everything ever since. I'm not sure when I can get the next one up, but I hope I can do it soon.

I do not own One Piece or its characters; Eiichiro Oda does.

* * *

Chapter 8

Uneasy Discoveries

Tashigi furrowed her eyebrows and scowled, looking up and down the beach in front of her as she ran. Zoro's heavy footsteps from behind reminded her of the thorn in her side, prompting an irritated groan. They had lost time- well, maybe not that much, but in this situation, every second counted- because Zoro wandered off twice at random and Tashigi had to go hunt him down and bring him back.

They started with Tashigi looking on the beach and Zoro in the woods. Tashigi thought that he'd be better hidden in the woods, and if the children escaped there, he should look for them there. However, whether it was Zoro's brain or feet, he didn't seem to understand the concept of the "edge of the woods," and instead wandered deeper into it, away from the beach, and not because he saw something. Tashigi managed to catch him twice before he went deeper, and decided in the end to simply have him run behind her. She would look ahead on the beach while he would look in the woods. More time was wasted trying to convince Zoro of this plan. It wasn't a good one, but having Zoro wander off wouldn't be helpful. Tashigi hated to admit it, but if she found the children and had to hold off the apes at the same time, protecting the children would become too much for her.

"Found anything yet?" Zoro called from behind.

"No!" Tashigi replied. "What about you?"

"Haven't seen anything. Of course, if I spent more time looking the woods instead of at you every five seconds, perhaps I could've found something sooner!"

"I only asked you to do that because unless you consistently check where you are, you're going to get lost again!"

"I told you, I don't get lost! Everything else just moves around! Like what you're doing now!"

"I may be moving, but I'm running on a straight line through a beach!" Tashigi protested, turning to look at him. "I'm not- Roronoa, you're going the wrong way!"

"What? No, I'm not!" he protested.

"Yes you are! How can you possibly think you're going in the right way when you're going in the opposite direction from me?"

"I thought we already went that way!"

"Oh come on!" she exclaimed, jamming her arm behind her, "Do you really recognize any of the scenery that's behind… me…" she faltered as she turned to look behind her and something caught her eye.

 _Oh come on_ , she thought _, how did I not see this when we were running this way earlier?_

"What's wrong? Did you realize that we've already been that way before?" Zoro yelled back.

"We obviously haven't, you idiot! If we had, we would've noticed that boat up ahead!"

"What? A boat?" Zoro finally turned around and started to run back. During that time, Tashigi pulled out a pair of binoculars and peered through them, adjusting them a little so the faraway object would come into focus.

"Huh, I do see something up ahead…" Zoro muttered, squinting. He noticed the binoculars. "Where did those come from?"

"My belt."

"Why didn't you use them before?"

"I wouldn't be able to hold them steady, and besides, my sight would have already been bouncing up and down."

"Okay. Are you sure that's your boat? I tried to escape the island before with a boat that Hawkeye provided, but the monkeys smashed it to bits…"

"It's definitely ours, alright," Tashigi said, passing the binoculars to him. "Our dinghies have the ship's name on them."

"It's turned over," Zoro observed, after looking through them and handing the binoculars back to her. "Do you think the kids are hiding underneath?"

"Possibly. Let's hurry."

They were halfway across the distance between them when Tashigi suddenly stopped, remembering something. "Roronoa, you'd better go into the forest and hide behind a tree, close to the beach. You can't let the kids see you. Keep an eye out for the monkeys."

"Right. They're what I'm here for, anyway," Zoro replied, taking off for the forest.

Tashigi was about to run forward again when instinct made her turn her head back to Zoro, just in time to see him enter the edge of the forest. "Stop!"

"Eh?"

"Don't go a step further!"

"What? Why?"

"You're on the edge of the forest. You don't need to go any further. Just stay there and hide behind a tree and wait for my signal."

"Don't tell me what to do, woman!"

"Don't yell, or the kids will hear you!" Tashigi retorted, ignoring his previous reply.

Zoro grumbled as he took refuge behind a large oak tree, still making sure he had a good vantage point to keep an eye on Tashigi through some branches. "If she yells back, then the kids will know I'm here anyway! Doesn't she know that? And what makes her think that she can tell me what to do? Dammit, she's starting to sound like Nami!"

Meanwhile, unaware of Zoro's griping, Tashigi hurried forward towards the boat, spreading out her haki to detect the presence of any monkeys in the forest. She knew Zoro was keeping a look out, but felt she should stay on guard for any monkeys that could come out of the forest ahead of her. As she did so, she noticed something disconcerting. A frown formed on her face, and it grew deeper and deeper the closer she approached the boat. She finally slowed down to a walk when she was about five feet away from the boat with a very deep frown and furrowed eyebrows.

She couldn't feel the presence of any monkeys, but she couldn't feel the presence of the children either.

This was odd. If they weren't under the boat, than where could they be? She stretched out her haki, but couldn't feel the presence of the kids up ahead or in the forest…

A thought occurred to her that made her skin pale and her blood go cold. She let out a gasp.

They couldn't be!…

…could they…?

She promptly stopped using her haki and rushed to the side of the boat, getting on her knees and trying to lift it up. She was quite strong, but the boat was pretty heavy, and after moving her knee underneath to take some of the weight off, she continued to lift it, gradually lifting it high enough where she could edge her shoulder under, then standing fully upright, lifting one end of the boat about five feet off the ground, allowing plenty of light to come in so she could see. Taking a deep breath, both to help her bear the weight and to steel herself for what she might see, she ducked her head down to see what was under the boat.

Nothing.

After staring at the empty space beneath the boat for about five seconds, she grew wary of the boat's edge digging into her shoulder. Grimacing, she took the boat's edge off her shoulder and unceremoniously let the boat thud hard back into the sand. She sat down, panting for a few moments, but quickly regained control. Then she remembered Zoro.

"Roronoa! You can come over here! There's nothing here!" she called. She hoped that he hadn't wandered off, and was relieved to see him emerge from the forest and run towards her. Well, at least he seemed to know what direction she was in. For now.

"The kids aren't under there?" he asked when he reached her, lifting up one side of the boat with annoying ease that Tashigi envied.

"Obviously!"

"Hm." Zoro crouched down. "Do you think the monkeys got them?"

Tashigi glared at him angrily. "Don-don't even think such a thing!"

"I'm just trying to figure out what happened. There's no sign of a struggle, and no blood either."

Tashigi took a look for herself. Indeed, there wasn't any blood or any sign of struggle in the sand.

"You think they escaped?"

"Looks like it." Zoro lowered the boat back to the ground.

Tashigi looked towards the shore. "But it does look like they were threatened somehow. The boat's several feet away from the shore, and there is a faint track in the sand showing that they dragged it up here. I guess they were worried about the monkeys and decided to hide under it for protection. That's pretty clever of them, considering that the bottom has a layer of seastone."

"Mm," Zoro grunted.

Tashigi was lost in thought for a moment but snapped back to her senses. "Ah! Er- no, that's not seastone on the bottom! That's actually just- tar! A really thick, hard tar-!"

"Marine woman, there's devil fruit users in my crew. Do you really think I wouldn't know what seastone looks like? Your boss carries a jute made of it!"

"Oh, er, right," Tashigi said, blushing. She clutched her forehead and mumbled, "Great, that was supposed to be a government secret."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Zoro told her. "I found out about it months ago."

"What? You're lying!"

"Am not! Dr. Vegapunk made ships with seastone on the bottom so that the Marines can sail through the Calm Belt without the sea emperors attacking them, right?"

Tashigi was surprised. She didn't know that he knew this much. "How do you know?"

"Sorry, not telling," Zoro replied. As Tashigi bristled, he added, "Besides, it probably doesn't matter by now. What kind of pirate doesn't notice when a government ship sails through the Calm Belt without being attacked?"

As Tashigi mulled this over, Zoro was checking seastone on the boat. "There's a few chips here and there; fresh ones. And the sand is all kicked up around it. I guess the monkeys did attack."

Except from the track from the shore, Tashigi hadn't examined the area around the boat- she only had the boat in mind when she rushed over. "But what happened to them?" She half-asked, half-muttered, looking at the traces around the boat. The boat was in the upper soft-sand part of the beach, where the feet tend to sink into sand, so the disturbance wasn't quite as noticeable, but there were large hallows left in the sand, indicating possible signs of Humandrills. "Why did they leave the boat?"

"It's not exactly nailed down," Zoro pointed out. "If the monkeys found out the kids were hiding under there, all they had to do was lift up the boat."

"But then what happened?"

"How would I know? I wasn't there!"

"You seem to be figuring things out just fine!"

"Why don't you look around and find something?"

"Fine!" Tashigi began to look around. Although there were a lot of prints, there wasn't anything that suggested a struggle- no huge disturbances in the sand, other than Humandrill footprints. She looked hard at the multitude of mini-drifts and hollows that were in the soft sand around, trying to see if any of those hollows were possibly big enough to belong to children.

As she examined the ground, a nasty thought crossed her mind. "Hey, Roronoa…"

"Eh?" Zoro grunted in reply.

"Do-do you think the monkeys killed them? Or… ate them? Do the monkeys eat humans?"

"I'm not sure, but maybe. Mihawk's never told me whether they do or not. But there's no struggle here. And no blood. No smell of blood either."

"If the monkeys lifted the boat, you think the kids ran off?"

"It looks like it."

Tashigi glanced around at her surroundings. "I don't think they went back into the ocean. The monster's still in there."

"Yeah, and the monkeys might know how to swim."

Tashigi nodded. "Which leaves us the forest."

Both of them looked at the eerie foliage. "You think they went in there?" Zoro asked, a little skeptical. "Not exactly the best idea, if you ask me. The monkeys probably know the place better than even Mihawk does."

"Still, the only other places are the sea or the beach in front of them. Both would leave them out in the open. At least in the forest, there's some cover."

"Hm." Zoro bent down and examined the ground more closely. He growled with some irritation. "I can't see any prints in this sand."

"Me neither," Tashigi agreed. "I just can't determine where they entered the forest." She moved away from the boat, walking towards the forest. Perhaps she could find a trail in there…

 _But if I don't, we'll have to scour the whole forest, and just Roronoa and I aren't enough to do that_ , Tashigi thought.

She realized that she hadn't checked back in with her teacher or superior about her and Zoro's discovery. She was about use her baby dendenmushi when something suddenly caught her eye.

A flash of red.

She hurried over to that flash of red, splashed on the leaf of a nearby plant-

"Oh no,"

Absentmindedly tucking her baby dendenmushi back in its place, she turned to Zoro.

"It looks like we've found our trail."

Zoro glanced over, and frowned when he saw that flash of red.

Blood.

* * *

Please Read and Review!


	9. Chapter 9: The Well

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or its characters; Eiichiro Oda does. I own Erika, though ;).

* * *

Chapter 9

The Well

Zoro was as acquainted with blood nearly as long as he was acquainted with Wado Ichimonji. Longer, really. He knelt down to inspect the blood on the plant more closely. "Pretty recent. Less than an hour, maybe?" He stood up, staring hard at the ground further away. There were a few other splashes of red, but it wasn't much. "There's more up ahead. Looks like a trail, all right."

He glanced at Tashigi. She just stood there, staring at the ground, her eyes appearing ready to jump out of her sockets. Her body was stiff and rigid, and for a moment Zoro wondered if she was squeamish at the sight of blood. He immediately crushed that thought; she was a swordsman and a Marine; there was no way she would still be either if she was uncomfortable with seeing blood.

His rebuttal against such an idea was further proven when he noticed Tashigi's mouth forming a hard line. She wasn't scared or anything; she was angry.

Finally, she spoke.

"They're- they're just _kids_."

There was a pause the length of a second, then she inhaled sharply and turned to look at Zoro. "Wait, do you think it's one of the monkeys-"

"I doubt it." Bending down to look at the trail of blood again, he found what he was looking for. "Look. Shoeprints. Small ones." He pointed. In the forest, with so much leaf litter, it was hard to track, but there were a few patches of bare earth in which there small, child-size shoe prints, showing up near the splatters of blood.

Tashigi's mouth hardened even more. She pulled out her sword and dashed forward. "They're just kids!" She stopped after only a few feet of Zoro, then turned to the right. Only a foot or so in that direct, she turned again, then seemed to be adjusting herself to walking speed as she twisted and turned, staring at the ground.

"What's wrong? Are you lost?" Zoro called, following her.

She shot him a nasty glare, but spread out her hands. "The blood and footprints… they keep changing direction. It looks like the monkeys caught up to them quickly." While Zoro glanced at the ground, Tashigi turned once more and stopped, horror rippling through her face. Silently she picked up a bloody knife.

When Zoro turned and saw her holding the bloody knife, he felt Kitetsu tremble a little- the blood was fresher than the trail of blood from before. He glowered at the sword, still vibrating at his side, and gripped it tightly. "Shut up, you. Behave!"

"This… this knife," Tashigi said. She'd seemed shocked at the discovery at first, but now seemed to be carefully looking at it. "This is a Marine-issued knife. All of us carry one."

Zoro got closer, tightening his grip on Kitetsu, which seemed to be shaking with even more excitement the closer he got to the knife. Getting a closer look, he added, "There's hair on it. I think that's monkey hair."

"You mean-?"

"Yeah." Zoro tossed her a devilish smirk that sent chills down her spine. "Looks like one of the kids managed to cut one of them." He glanced again at the knife, and added, "Probably threw the knife at the monkey and it struck the monkey deep enough to stick. The monkey was probably stuck here trying to get the knife out…" he glanced around, and noticed a faint trail of blood, leading away from the scene. "…while the kids got away." He smirked again. "Damn, now I'm starting to like these kids."

"There's another blood trail here," Tashigi pointed out. Zoro glanced over, Kitetsu giving another violent shudder as he laid his eyes on a fresher, heavier trail of blood. There was a small puddle of blood near it.

He nodded. "The monkey's. Seems he went in a different direction." He started to follow the earlier trail. Tashigi quickly got ahead of him, probably to make sure he didn't veer off course again. She seemed to be so focused on keeping track of the trail, though, that Zoro decided to extend his observation haki, staying alert for any monkeys nearby.

"Gah-!" Tashigi emitted a noise that sounded like something between a cry and a squeak just as she tripped and fell on hard on her face, her arms going wide and keeping her sword out of the way.

Zoro moved sharply in response, but relaxed slightly when he realized there wasn't any danger. He groaned when he saw Tashigi sprawled out on the ground. "You tripped again?!"

"Not over nothing!" Tashigi protested, yanking one of her feet up and scooting forward a little before turning around. She pointed. "I think there's some sort of string there…"

There was a flash of light, and Zoro squatted to get a closer look. "String? Looks like…fishing line…" He looked from side to side, noting more string wrapped around the trees on either side. "A tripwire."

"Is that more of it over there?" Tashigi asked, pointing with one hand as she adjusted her glasses. Zoro looked up to see a multitude of flashes of light, which he realized were glancing off more transparent strings. The longer he looked, the more he realized that the string was all tangled all around several surrounding trees into one giant, tangled web.

When he and Tashigi came closer, they noticed some bunches of line were really tangled and cut.

"Looks like some monkeys got caught in the web and had to cut themselves free," Tashigi noted.

Zoro was grinning now. This sort of stunt reminded him of Usopp. He could just imagine him running around like the coward he was, bawling and screaming, while he set up the trap. Maybe he ought to mention this to him when the crew got back together.

Tashigi broke into his thoughts, saying, "Where does this end? I wonder if the kids were still heading in a straight line after they made this."

Zoro glanced around. "Over there," he said, pointing. A black fishing pole dangled from the web, straight across from them, on what appeared to be the other side of the web.

"Great. Let's start cutting through," Tashigi said, now standing and holding her sword out in front of her. Just as she stepped forward to make a downward slash, a hand with a sword shot in front of her. She looked up to see Zoro, who now had all three swords out, with one in his mouth.

"Stand back," he ordered, his voice muffled by the sword in his mouth- the Wado Ichimonji, Tashigi noted indigently- "I'll take care of this."

Tashigi began to protest in anger and annoyance, but Zoro ignored her. "Santoryu" he began, and in the next few seconds, all Tashigi saw was a blur of swords and Zoro. Before she knew it, Zoro was next to the tree with the fishing pole dangling from it, his swords crossed against his chest.

"Demon Crow Hunt," he finished. All the string suddenly snapped into bits and pieces that fell the ground. Tashigi held her sword in front of her, checking to see if the way was clear, the way someone would hold a stick out in front of them to swipe away any spider's web in their path. She felt no resistance.

"The trail picks up again here," Zoro said, sheathing his swords and running off. Tashigi hurried to catch up with him before he could veer away from the blood trail for some weird reason.

The trail continued on for about two hundred feet when suddenly it stopped- Zoro nearly kept going in the same direction but Tashigi stopped him- and took a sharp turn to the right. The question for why floating in her mind, Tashigi glanced up.

"Look!" she said, tugging on Zoro's shirt and getting his attention. "Do you think they were heading for that?" she pointed.

Following Tashigi's indicating finger, Zoro saw…a circular pile of stones.

"A pile of rocks?"

"I think it's a well. There's a wooden roof on the ground next to it," Tashigi said, looking through her binoculars. She handed them to Zoro.

Peering through them, Zoro could see what she meant- there was a wooden roof structure on the ground next to the pile of stones, which, through the binoculars, were carefully built into a circle. There were also some jagged pieces of wood on the ground next to the well, which must have belonged to the pieces of wood extending from the little roof on the ground. It looked like the roof had been torn out of place.

"A well would indicate that there was a house or something nearby," Tashigi pointed out. "That's probably why they went in that direction."

"The blood trail does lead in that direction," Zoro agreed, and they ran towards the well. Both sent out their observation haki, trying to get a sense for the kids nearby.

They couldn't sense them, but they did sense-

"Danger!" Zoro shouted as he moved slightly to Tashigi's right and, lightning-fast, unsheathed his sword and sliced the air in one fluid motion. Three broken arrows, all cut cleanly in half, fell to the ground. Tashigi held her sword out in front of her, every sense of her body alert as she tried to take stock of the situation. Beside her, Zoro bellowed as he released a 36-pound cannon as tree about a hundred feet away from him, felling the tree and the monkey in it. The monkey was knocked out by the fall.

Noticing the collateral damage, Tashigi yelled, "You idiot! If you keep releasing attacks like that, you'll destroy the surrounding area and we'll lose track of the trail!"

"You follow the trail, then, I'll take care of the monkeys!" Zoro shouted, blocking a flying knife.

"Are you kidding me? There's five more of them!"

Zoro gave another devilish grin, once again sending chills down Tashigi's spine. "Five?" he echoed, taking his bandana off his bicep and tying it around his head. "That's nothing. Just follow the trail!"

"But-"

"Do it, copycat woman!"

The well was still two hundred meters away. Tashigi sprinted towards it with all her might, dodging when another monkey tried to attack, this one armed with a sword. She tried to keep running away, but spun around to block another attack when her haki warned her. Before she could make another move, though, the monkey was suddenly blown off its feet and fell several meters away. Tashigi turned angrily to Zoro, yelling, "I had him!"

"I said I would take care of the monkeys! Now, hurry up!"

Tashigi wanted to argue some more, but Zoro seemed too preoccupied, so she continued towards the well. Once she got there, she looked around, trying to see if there was a house hidden somewhere. For a moment, her eyes fell on the ground.

"Roronoa!" she called. "The blood trail ends at the well!"

"Eeeeeh?"

Tashigi ignored his response. There wasn't much blood left in the trail, but when she looked carefully, she noticed some drops of blood on the lip of the well.

"Blood? Don't tell me they…" she muttered, looking down into the well. "Hello…" she called, but her voice faltered as she made a new discovery.

Stone blocks jutted out from the well's walls, providing enough space for a firm foothold. Tashigi stood up fully, taking in the well's diameter. It was wide enough that an adult could fit in with plenty of room, but it was too small for the monkeys.

 _Could they have climbed down there?_ She wondered to herself, trying to see the bottom. Staring hard with her glasses, all she could see at the bottom was blackness. She couldn't sense anything with her haki, either.

"You think they're down there?" a voice said to her left.

Tashigi jumped, then turned to glare at Zoro, who had rejoined her, all of his swords sheathed. "What are you doing here?"

"I beat all the monkeys, so what else am I supposed to do?" Zoro demanded. Tashigi looked up and around; sure enough, six monkeys were all sprawled out on the ground, possibly dead or unconscious. "Anyway," Zoro continued, "do you think they're down there?"

"I'm not sure," Tashigi admitted slowly. "There's blood on the well, and the kids could have used those stone blocks to climb down. I can't sense them or see anything at the bottom. The well is too narrow for the monkeys to follow." She was silent for a moment, thinking, before saying, "I'm going to report to Erika-sensei and Smoker-san. I'll let them know what we've found." She sheathed her sword, took out her baby den-den mushi and pressed the button. "Erika-sensei, Smoker-san, this is Tashigi."

"You found something?" the den-den mushi said in Erika's voice.

"Yes. Roronoa and I found the boat on the beach and we discovered a blood trail."

"Baka!" the den-den mushi snapped suddenly in Smoker's voice. Tashigi nearly jumped. "You should have reported to us then!"

"S-sorry! My apologies, Smoker-san!" Tashigi said, flustered. She went on to explain their discoveries while Zoro stood alert, hands on his swords, on watch for any other monkeys.

"Do you know where you are?" Erika asked when Tashigi finished.

"Ummm…" Tashigi lifted her head and looked around her. "Well, we're in the forest by the well…" Embarrassed, she realized that she didn't know where she and Zoro were. And _she_ was supposed to be the one who kept them from getting lost!

"I know that," Smoker interrupted, irritation in his tone. "See, this is what I mean by-."

His voice was cut off by sudden, loud shriek from the den-den mushi. Tashigi was so surprised that she accidentally dropped the den-den mushi into the well. Crying out, she lurched forward to grab it, but another hand got it first.

"Got it," Zoro gasped, hanging tightly onto the snail. His entire torso was hanging over the well's wall. Before Tashigi could thank him, there was suddenly another shriek from behind, Tashigi bolted upright and turned, hand on her sword. One of the defeated monkeys had come to, appearing very pissed off, and was screeching as it ran towards Tashigi, holding a giant hammer over its shoulder. Tashigi dodged just as the monkey took as swing at her, and the hammer ended up crashing into the well instead, breaking some of the rocks and the force knocking Zoro into the well. "What the-!"

"Roronoa!" Tashigi shouted after him automatically. She quickly turned to the monkey and before it could lift the hammer again, Tashigi sliced the hammer's head off the handle and quickly executed a Kiri Shigure, slicing it across the chest. The monkey, already injured, collapsed.

Sheathing her sword, Tashigi turned back to the well. "Roronoa?" she called. All she heard was a grunt. Her eyes darted to the stone blocks that jutted out from the wall. They were still intact. She hoisted herself over the well's lip and took a handhold and foot hold on the blocks. "I'm coming!" she called, and started to climb down as fast as possible.

As she neared the bottom, she could see the outline of Zoro's body. She had expected to see him upside down with his shoulders and head on the ground and his torso and legs against the wall, but instead he was right-side up and sitting cross-legged on the ground. He was groaning and rubbing his head.

"Are you all right?" Tashigi asked when she reached the bottom.

"Eh?" Zoro looked up and seemed surprised to see her. "Fine," he answered through gritted teeth. "I just bumped my head, that's all." He started to unsheathe his swords to check them after his fall.

"Just bumped your head?!" Tashigi exclaimed. "After a fall like that, you must have broken your neck! You must've gotten a concussion at least!" She held up three fingers in front of him. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Zoro glared at her. "There's no need to check me, copycat woman, I'm fine," he growled.

"Don't be like that! I'm trying to see if you're all right! Are you this inconsiderate to every person who tries to help you?" Tashigi snapped.

Zoro didn't answer; he just handed her the baby den-den mushi and looked away. Tashigi was temporarily silenced as she accepted it, checking it over. The poor den-den mushi seemed unharmed, though it did seem shaken, but the comm. button was busted. Although she was relieved that the den-den mushi was ok, Tashigi still grumbled a little over the fact that she couldn't contact Erika or Smoker.

"Oi," Zoro interrupted, pointing in the direction of his gaze. Tashigi turned her head in the direction of his finger and words failed her.

By the faint light provided from above, she could see a small, circular door, seemingly carved out of the well's wall and with a ring for a handle. It was close to the bottom of the well and it was big enough for a child to pass through standing up. It was slightly ajar.

For a moment, no one said anything. Finally, Tashigi muttered "the kids" under her breath, tucking the den-den mushi into her pocket while standing up, stepping over to the door and yanking it open. She couldn't see much inside, but there appeared to be a stone floor and walls.

Bending down, she stepped through the opening. She could barely see further than a few feet in front of her, but the dim light revealed a large stone passageway.

"Hello?" she called. Her voice echoed over the gray walls. She took a few cautious steps forward. "Anybody here?" She continued to make her way inside.

"Shouldn't you light a torch or something?" Zoro's deep voice intoned, echoing in the passageway. Tashigi whirled around to see that Zoro had also climbed though the doorway and was looking up at the walls.

She scowled. "Oh, no! You stay where you are!" she ordered, walking further into the tunnel. "I'll go looking for- kyaaaaaa!"

She suddenly tripped over something and fell forward, and continued to stumble towards the ground, and abruptly disappeared. Zoro stood frozen as he heard sounds of a body thumping and bumping on stone, along with the clanging of metal and a few grunts and yelps from Tashigi. He nearly moved forward to see what had happened when-

 _SNAP!_

The sound cracked the air like a gunshot, causing Zoro to stare, wide-eyed into the darkness, as a loud roar filled his eyes and a sick feeling emerged in his stomach.

* * *

Author's note: Hi guys, sorry I took so long to update again. I had one hell of the end of the semester. I'm on winter break now, and I'll try to finish it before I go back to school. Sorry if the writing doesn't seem as good. Please tell me if you have any suggestions to make it better.

Please read and review! ;)


	10. Chapter 10: Luck

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or its characters; Eiichiro Oda does. I own Erika though.

* * *

Chapter 10

Luck

Reality faded from Zoro's vision, and all he could see was Kuina, laid out on the floor with a cloth over her face.

" _Kuina...Kuina is dead, Zoro."_

 _"They said she slipped, fell down the storehouse steps."*_

 _"Kuina is dead, Zoro…"_

 _"Fell down the storehouse steps…"_

 _"…dead, Zoro…"_

 _"Fell down the storehouse steps…"_

" _Fell down…"_

" _Fell down the storehouse steps…"_

"… _the storehouse steps…"_

"… _fell down…"_

A small noise, possibly a pebble rolling off of something, broke through Zoro's reverie. He shook his head to clear it and finally found his voice. "O-oi! Oi! C-copycat woman!"

Silence.

"Marine girl! Can you hear me?"

More silence.

Dammit, it was too dark. He couldn't see. He looked around, then noticed a torchbearer holding an unlit torch on the wall. He grabbed it, then took out Kitetsu. Normally, he wouldn't use his swords for this kind of function, but Kitetsu had been misbehaving and perhaps some mundane work would teach it to keep its place. He scraped the blade across the stone, producing some sparks, which caught fire on the torch held underneath. A few seconds later, he had a roaring flame in his hand.

Holding the torch out in front of him, finally able to see further into the passageway, he noticed that the floor dropped off four feet away from him. Walking over to the edge, he discovered a staircase, with walls on either side. It went down a long way; even with his light, Zoro couldn't see the end of it.

He started down the steps, straining so hard to see further that he flinched a little when something abruptly snapped under his foot. Looking down, he found that he had stepped on the strangely bare arm of an armored skeleton, which was laying horizontally on the step, the said arm flung above its head.

Zoro typically remained unshakable in the face of discovering skeletons (getting freaked out over them was Usopp's job) but in light of what just happened, the encounter slightly disturbed him. He lifted his boot off the arm and moved a little to the side, muttering a "sorry" as he continued down the stairs. A few steps down, the light revealed another humanoid shape, but on closer inspection it was another armored skeleton.

As he continued his trek down the stairs, more and more of these dead soldiers appeared, strewn about the stairs, apparently downed from a battle long ago- probably the war which wiped out the country in the first place.

Perhaps a hundred steps down, the torch's light caught a flash of green and white. Zoro picked up his pace when he saw it.

"Her sword," Zoro muttered. Leaning at an angle against the wall was Tashigi's Shigure. He picked it up and inspected it; the sheath seemed a little scratched, but otherwise fine, and the sword seemed fine too. Well, it ought to be, considering it was also a Meito.

He looked around, but Tashigi still was nowhere in sight. "Marine girl?" he called again. "Oi, can you hear me? Where are you?"

There was still no answer, but a few more steps down the torch illuminated the end of the stairs, and at the bottom of the stairs, about a foot away from them, lay a non-skeletal figure sprawled out on the ground. It wasn't moving.

"Marine girl!" Zoro rushed to the bottom of the stairs. Finally, up close, he could see it was definitely Tashigi. Her arms were raised above her head, and her legs lay apart, flat against the ground. Her mouth was slightly open, her eyes were closed, and Zoro noticed her glasses lying on the ground half a foot away from her.

Kuina returned to his mind, and he was on the ground on his knees, putting his hand on her neck. Realizing that he still had one hand occupied, he looked around and spotted another torchbearer on the wall. Emptying his load in there, he turned back to Tashigi. After returning her arms to her sides, he carefully lifted her head and placed in his lap before feeling the back of her head and neck. As far as he could tell, it wasn't broken. Without thinking, he sighed, possibly with relief, then realized that under one of his hands still on her neck, he could feel something moving.

 _Her pulse_ , he realized. _She has a pulse_. He put a hand over her mouth, and felt a gentle puff of air being exhaled.

Before he could react to that, a fist suddenly shot out of nowhere and would've clocked him in the jaw if Zoro didn't automatically grab it. There was a yelp of pain and Zoro looked down, surprised to see Tashigi's eyes wide open, her brow furrowed and staring up at him angrily.

"You!" she hissed.

Zoro smirked. "Oh, good you're awake. Are you ok?"

"What- what do you mean, am I ok?" Tashigi snapped, struggling to sit up. Zoro released her arm, and using it, she managed to sit up and turn to face him. "Owww," she groaned, her arm darting to reach her back. Then she looked around, and felt along the ground, until her hands discovered her glasses. Feeling them, she discovered they were slightly cracked, but they would have to do. Putting them on, she continued, "What do you mean, am I ok? You were trying to suffocate me!"

"Eeh?! No, I wasn't!"

"You are one of the worst-"

"I was checking your neck!" he yelled. "I was checking your neck, because you could've snapped your neck, and you would've died! You would've died, ok?!"**

There was a pause. Tashigi stared at him, apparently shocked, before she found her voice and said, "But why would you-." She stopped, her brow furrowing again, apparently thinking. "Oh. Oh, now I understand."

"Understand _what_?" Zoro spat, extremely irked. And to think, this woman was berating him not long ago for not being grateful!

"This is all about your dead girlfriend, isn't it!" Tashigi snapped. "It is, isn't it! Because I look like her!" Even by the torchlight, Tashigi could see that his face went a shade paler when she said that. "When are you ever going learn that I'm not her? I have my own life, you know! I have my own goals! I'm _me_ , ok?!"

"Oh, will you shut up!" By now, Zoro had pulled his legs out from under him and now sat with one leg folded towards him as it would in a cross-legged position, while the other was upright, bent at the knee and folded close to his chest. Placing his elbow on his upright knee, he clutched his forehead with his hand, scowling.

Tashigi gaped indigently at him. "Why- you-," she stammered, but her voice faltered as she began to observe a closer look at his face. He was gritting his teeth, his eyes squeezed shut, and he seemed to clutch his forehead even more tightly than before, as if he were remembering something painful.

Silent, she folded her hands in her lap and stared at the ground. Somehow, though she wasn't sure how, she knew that she'd gone too far. "I'm- I'm sorry."

A long silence stretched between the two of them, until Tashigi remembered her sword and started to glance around her, looking for it. There was a rattle of metal and Tashigi found the sword thrust in front of her by Zoro. She hesitated, then gingerly took it from him. "Umm…thanks." She drew the sword partway out of the sheath to examine it.

"I know you're not her."

Tashigi's head jerked up, her eyes wide in surprise. She opened her mouth to say something, but swallowed it.

"I know- I know you're not her," Zoro repeated, evidently not caring whether Tashigi would reply to him anyway. "You're definitely not her. Because you're a lot luckier than she ever was." He glanced at Tashigi, whose face wore a confused expression. "You know," he elaborated, "because when she fell down the stairs, she- she died." One of his hands slid down to grip one of his swords tightly- the Wado Ichimonji, Tashigi noticed. "And for the last time, she wasn't my girlfriend. Just a friend."

Another pause.

"Oh," Tashigi replied. "Oh. I-I didn't know."

Now it was Zoro's turn to look confused. "What do you mean, you didn't know? Didn't Erika tell you?"

Tashigi bristled a bit at Zoro's disrespectful way of referring to Erika-sensei, but she decided to let that go for now. "What? No, she didn't tell me that. What was she supposed to tell me?" Zoro scowled, got to his feet, and began to walk away. "Hey! What didn't she tell me?!"

"Go ask her! I'm not telling you anything," Zoro growled, taking the torch out of the torchbearer. Apparently the whole ordeal had lowered his defenses and exposed a raw and emotional part of him, and now he was raising his defenses again. He turned towards her. "Are you going to get up, or can you walk?"

"Oh!" Tashigi forgot she was still on sitting on the ground, and struggled to her feet. He legs shook a little, but as far as she could tell, she didn't have any broken bones. Her spine was killing her, though, and her ribs in the back and her shoulder blades ached, probably bruised. She felt up her arms and the front of her ribs, and checked her calves. "I can walk. Everything seems fine, just bruised." She heard a sigh and lifted her head to see Zoro still staring her, his mouth pressed into a hard line. "What? I'm telling the truth!"

Zoro seemed a bit angry, as he replied with a little heat, "How is it that you're so lucky? I heard a snapping sound, and I thought that was your neck!"

Tashigi frowned, trying to remember. Everything from that moment in time was like a blur, but she felt that she could remember something… "I- I don't know. I guess- I think I tucked myself into a ball, and kept my head covered."

Zoro sighed again, then reached around to rub his neck. "Huh. I guess you must have bounced off a skeleton or something and snapped one of their bones."

"Wha- a skeleton?"

"Yeah, there were skeletons all over the stairs," Zoro said, point his finger to something behind Tashigi. Tashigi turned to look, holding Shigure tightly to her chest. "What- are you scared of skeletons or something?"

"What- no!" Tashigi bit back vehemently. "I just didn't expect to see any."

Zoro snorted. "Didn't expect to see any? This is Kuraigana Island, where the kingdom was wiped out by a massive war.*** You're bond to find some bodies here and there." He paused, then added, "If you kept your head covered, how did you get knocked out?"

Tashigi almost folded her arms, but couldn't, as she had Shigure in one hand. "I don't know. I guess my head banged against something." Now that she mentioned it, she could feel a bump growing on one side of her head. Ow. "Where are we, anyway?" she asked, walking forward. The two started down the passageway. "The castle, maybe?"

Zoro frowned. "I don't remember seeing anything like this in the castle."

"Considering the door opened into a well, I guess this is a secret passageway. I'll bet that the king made it to escape."

Zoro grunted as they passed another armored skeleton that was hunched up against the wall. "Well, so much for that."

"Ack! The kids!" Tashigi gasped, stopping in her tracks. "Do you think they went down here?"

"Nowhere else to go, as far as I know," Zoro replied.

"We better tell- oh! The baby den-den mushi!" Tashigi hurriedly wrangled the poor snail out of her pocket and held it up her glasses for inspection. "Oh, great, the button and the mouth pieces are broken," she groaned. "Well, I think the snail's okay."

"You sure? It looks like the snail's ducked inside, and the shell looks a bit cracked," Zoro remarked, leaning in for a closer look himself.

"We use a special varnish on the shell to keep it from getting cracked," Tashigi explained. "It's hard to tell in this light, but I think the shell itself is okay. The poor thing."

"Well, I guess we'll have to figure out how to contact the others later," Zoro said, striding further down the passageway.

"Wait! Roronoa! The kids aren't supposed to see you!" Tashigi reminded him. She spotted a suit of armor standing up against the wall. Nervously, she lifted the helmet off. She breathed a little easier when she saw that the suit was empty. "Here," she said, holding out the helmet to Zoro, "use this to cover your face."

Zoro stared, his eyes wide and his jaw hanging open with a look of complete and utter disbelief. "Eeeeh? I'm not wearing that!"

* * *

* Lines from Anime episode 19.

** I put this in because I believe that Kuina probably died from a broken neck, but they never say that in the manga or the anime. Still, I often get the impression that people break their necks when they fall down the stairs. Just an assumption, don't hold it against me, please.

***Once again, an assumption. Considering that there aren't any other humans on the island, and Mihawk's taken over the castle, and there's nothing but ruins, you just can't help but think that everyone killed each other. either that, or the monkeys killed the survivors. Or the survivors left. In any case, in the end the war certainly killed the kingdom.

Author's note: See, another chapter! Please tell me if anything's getting OOC or repetitive. Whenever I put Tashigi and Zoro together the two always end up arguing. I think they'll take it a little easier now. I've love to hear what you think! Please read and review!


	11. Chapter 11: Found

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or its characters. They belong to Oda-sensei. Erika, and now Hibine, Toshi, Maeko and Sasuke are my original characters in this. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 11

Found

Zoro could not see how a knight's helmet would prevent the Marine kids from recognizing him as Roronoa Zoro. Sure, it covered his face, hair and earrings, but he still had his three swords and haramaki. Seriously, who else carried three swords around?

Unfortunately, he had allowed Tashigi to talk him into wearing it before he came up with all these reasons, and simply hoped that his luck would be enough to keep the kids from recognizing him. He wasn't sure how long his luck would hold out if they ever found the kids, because from what he'd seen, the kids were clearly quick-thinking and intelligent, and probably not as oblivious as Tashigi was. Heck, when it came to obliviousness, Tashigi was in a category of her own.

Any doubts as to whether the kids were in the passageway were settled when they picked up the blood trail again. The dead remains of soldiers littered the passageway, reduced to nothing but bones in scraps of rusty armor, occasionally gruesomely decorated with an arrow or spear or sword in different parts of the body. Some lay flat on the ground, others sat, propped up against the wall. The smell of rust and iron lay in the air, and Zoro wondered, without much thought to it, how much that smell belonged to the rusted metal and how much to old blood. There were certainly plenty nasty brown stains on the walls to make the answer to that question a little more challenging than it should be. However, the blood trail they were following was much redder and fresher and thankfully, in smaller amounts than the stains on the ground and the walls.

Both he and Tashigi stretched out their observation haki. For Tashigi it was mostly to find the children. It was like that for Zoro too, but he was also doing it to stay alert for anything dangerous. He hadn't forgotten that humiliating instance on Thriller Bark, when those mouse-spider zombies managed to sneak up on him, tie him up and spirit him away. No way was he going to allow something that embarrassing like that happen to him again.

Once again Tashigi took the lead, but Zoro still carried the torch, lighting any that they came upon. She'd asked Zoro for the torch before, but he refused, saying that she was too clumsy to be carrying it. He'd expected Tashigi to snap back at him, but she'd silently relented and allowed him to have it.

Zoro found her retreat from an argument strange, but that wasn't the only thing. The passageway occasionally had other passageways breaking off from the main one, prompting Zoro to follow them for no obvious reason, but she'd always grab his arm and steer him in the proper direction. Before, she would often snip and gripe about his lack of direction, but now she just stayed quiet.

Normally, Zoro would be happy to not have a self-righteous female snapping at him, but Tashigi's silence gnawed at him a little. Still, since he didn't want zombie-spider-mice kidnapping him again, he decided to put the issue out of his mind and focus.

He didn't have to for long. After perhaps five to ten minutes walking down the passageway, Tashigi noticed a shift in the shadows in the shadows in the entrance to a branching tunnel. Zoro couldn't see very well through the helmet's visor, so he didn't notice until Tashigi pointed it out to him. Running to the tunnel and peering in, they saw a faint, flickering glow coming from around a corner on the right.

"Hello?" Tashigi called. "Anyone here?"

The shadows seemed to tremble- well, perhaps a bit more than they usually would as the light was already flickering. The glow quickly faded from its place around the corner, though not completely. Tashigi and Zoro followed, rounding the corner to chase after the mysterious light that was once again rapidly disappearing from another corner on the left. Just when Tashigi and Zoro went around that corner, the light suddenly vanished, and the two found themselves staring into the black entrance to a bigger space.

Zoro held out the torch, looking around; like the passageway, there were bodies everywhere, with a wooden table set in the middle. A hideaway base? Zoro mused. It was a pity Robin wasn't here; she'd be all over this sort of thing.

By now, both Zoro and Tashigi could feel it- the presence of something, something in the room.

"Do you sense that?" Zoro asked Tashigi. In the helmet, his voice sounded all echo and distorted.

Tashigi nodded. Despite the helmet, she still understood him. "It has to be one of them. Hello! Maeko? Sasuke? Hibine? Toshi? Are you in here?"

"Over here," Zoro intoned, gesturing to the right with his torch. He could feel the small presence, hunched behind something.

Tashigi turned to look in the direction he was pointed, and gave a rather high-pitched yelp. Struggling to see through the visor, Zoro could make out another armored skeleton hunched against the wall. He frowned. The life he was sensing couldn't be this thing… or could it? After Thriller Bark, he was ready to believe anything, but he was still certain that the skeleton wasn't what he was looking for.

"Hey, kids? It's me, Lieutenant Tashigi. Remember me?"

"Lieutenant-chan?" said the voice of a young boy. The skeleton moved a bit, and for a second Zoro almost believed that the skeleton actually was alive, until pale, freckle-faced body with curly brown hair and a dirty Marine uniform emerged from behind.

"Ah! Hibine!" Tashigi sounded excited, happy and relieved. She grasped the kid's shoulders. "Thank goodness we've found you! Where are the others? Are they ok? Are you hurt?"

"I'm- I'm fine," the boy replied, seeming a little shaken. He was very young, perhaps thirteen or fourteen. Zoro, noticing a piece of cloth wrapped tightly around his arm, almost snorted in disbelief, but tried to hold it back. "The others are holed up nearby. I'll show the way. The-" his eyes shifted to Zoro- "WHAAAAA?!"

He fell over backwards, his eyes full of fear. Tashigi spun around, but didn't see anything but Zoro, and worked out what happened. "It's ok, it's ok, that's just someone who lives on the island."

"Dra-Dra-Dracule Mihawk?"

"What? No! No, it's just, um…" Tashigi hesitated. "Someone who looks after Mihawk's castle! Yes, that's it."

"Why the helmet?" the kid asked, visibly calming down.

"Uh…" Tashigi seemed unsure.

"Wait- is it some kind of horrible scar?" the boy said in a hushed voice.

Tashigi was obviously relieved to be handed an excuse on a silver platter. "Yes, yes, it's a bad scar. He doesn't like showing his face to others. Not so loud!"

"Really? Did he get it in a fight with Mihawk? What's his name?"

"Um…" Tashigi glanced back at Zoro.

"Johnny," Zoro supplied. He didn't feel bad for using his friend's name; it was common enough. "Where are the others, kid?"

"Uh- they're- they're over here. Right this way, just follow me." The kid- Hibine- clambered to his feet. Zoro gave him the torch, and the boy led them to some destination across the room.

"How are the others?" Tashigi inquired.

"Maeko's ok, but Sasuke got shot in the arm, but there wasn't much blood. Toshi's the worst off, though; one of those giant ape-things managed to slice him from his thigh to his calf. We've been trying to wrap it up, but we're worried 'cause he lost lots of blood."

"What he the one leaving blood in the woods?" Zoro asked.

Hibine stopped and turned back to look at him. "Blood in the woods?" he repeated, a look of panic beginning to grow on his face.

"Yeah, we followed a trail of it all the way here."

Zoro couldn't tell, but the boy's pale face seemed to turn even paler. "Oh, shit!" he cursed, prompting a rebuke from Tashigi, as he started to run. "Sorry, Lieutenant-chan! We'd better hurry up! If he's been bleeding for so long…"

They ran into another tunnel, and after taking a few turns, burst into a small room. Zoro was a little surprised at the extra light, provided by two torches in the room. Two kids jumped up; one a small girl, with dirty-blond hair in braided pigtails under her cap and moss-green eyes, and the other a boy, with black hair, dark skin and black eyes, one hand on his right bicep, tied with a blue bandage. Both looked to be around thirteen, and both had knives in their hands, prepared to defend themselves. They relaxed a little when they saw Hibine.

"Hibine!" the girl said, stepping forward. "Did you find any cloth- Lieutenant Tashigi!"

"Maeko! Sasuke! Thank goodness! Are you all right? Oh, Sasuke, your arm-!"

"It's nothing, just a scratch," the black-haired kid said stiffly, obviously trying to act tough. "But Lieutenant-chan, you need to take a look at Toshi! He's really bad!"

They moved apart, one to each side, to let Tashigi through, and turned around to joined her. They all knelt down on the ground, and Zoro finally saw another boy laid out on the ground, around the same age as the other three, his skin so pale it was white, with light brown hair. His eyes were closed, and Zoro couldn't tell if he was asleep or not, but his face was contorted into a grimace of pain. His leg was wrapped in a bloody rag- the blue neckerchief that lower-ranked Marines wore, Zoro realized. Considering that all three were missing their neckerchiefs, Zoro guessed that two were used to bind up the wound on the boy's leg and one was used to tie up the bullet wound on the other kid's arm. The two neckerchiefs on the boy's leg however, were soaked through.

"This looks very bad," Tashigi said worriedly as she examined the boy's leg. Her voice pitched a little, but luckily she wasn't screaming and running around the way Chopper did whenever he discovered someone badly hurt. She shrugged off her purple jacket and began to wrap it very tightly around the boy's leg. "He's lost so much blood."

"I don't think he's lost too much," Zoro remarked. "The trail we followed only had drops of blood-."

He was cut off by a scream from the girl (who had turned to see who was speaking) who in turn was interrupted by the boy who said, "What are you doing? Shut up!" before turning to look in her direction and gave a strangled cry and falling on his rear when he saw Zoro. Zoro sighed. Yet another reason why he shouldn't have worn this helmet.

"It's one of the knights! It's one of the dead knights!" the girl screeched.

"Hey! Be quiet, please!" Tashigi ordered, raising her voice just a bit. "That's R- Johnny. He looks after the castle. He came along with me to help find you."

"O-oh," said the girl. She still looked a little uptight. "Um. Hi. Thanks for, um, coming."

"You don't need to thank me," Zoro replied gruffly, folding his arms and leaning against the doorway.

"All right," Tashigi began, suddenly businesslike. "Maeko, Hibine, help me get Toshi on my back."

"Wait a second," Hibine said. "Do any of you hear that?"

The room fell silent. Then, slowly, a strange, familiar sing-song phrase entered Zoro's ears.

 _"Ne-ga-tive, ne-ga-tive, ne-ga-tive, ne-ga-tive. Horo horo hor horo horo!"_

Shit, that sounded like-

Another scream from Maeko shattered Zoro's concentration, and he turned to glare at her, though he quickly realized that was pointless, since she couldn't see his face. "Will you be quiet?" he demanded irritably.

However, the girl wasn't paying attention to him, her mouth and eyes wide open as she jabbed her shaking finger in Zoro's direction, presumably behind him. "G-ghost…."

"Ghost? Could that be the ghost of one of the dead soldiers here?" one of the boys exclaimed.

"No! Please! Have mercy! We didn't mean to disturb you or anything!" wailed Maeko.

Zoro turned around to see some white thing in front of him. Lifting the visor so he could see more clearly, he recognized it, and took a few cautious steps back. "Oh, it's just one of Perona's ghosts."

"One of Perona's ghosts?" Tashigi repeated, questioning.

"Perona ate the Hollow-Hollow fruit, so now she can produce ghosts," Zoro explained.

"Don't get too close; if it goes through you, it will make you negative."

"Who's Perona?" one of the kids asked.

"Why would one of her ghosts be down here?" Tashigi wanted to know.

Ignoring the first question (he decided to let Tashigi take care of that), Zoro replied, "She probably sent her ghosts out to find us. I'll bet that Erika asked her to send them out when the communicator on your den-den mushi broke."

"Oh great, that's broken?" another one of the kids groaned.

Tashigi, who had somehow managed to get Toshi on her back and now supported him by holding him underneath his legs, stepped forward. "Do you think her ghost could tell her where we are?"

"If it couldn't, I don't think she would've sent them out to find us," Zoro replied.

Tashigi looked annoyed. "Ok, here's what we're going to do," she said. "We're going to go back to the well's entrance and climb out of there. Once out," she focused her eyes on the ghost- "will you lead us back to the castle?"

The grinning ghost nodded, then did some sort of backflip in the air, forming as circle as it did. _"Horo horo horo horo horo!"_

"I think that means yes," Zoro grunted. "But if you think this is a secret passageway connected to the castle, then why don't we try to find our way back to the castle down here?"

Tashigi shook her head. "Toshi needs help _now_. He may need a blood transfusion. We don't know how long it'll take us to get to the castle in this passageway. It's faster to go the way we came, which is lit and familiar. Besides, if this passageway is connected to the castle, then the castle shouldn't be too far away."

"But what about the monkeys? What if they're still near the well?" Hibine asked.

"We already took care of them," Zoro replied.

"But what if more monkeys are there?"

"Then I'll take care of it."

"If something like that happens, we'll just send the ghost to Perona telling her to send backup," Tashigi told the kid. "Ok? Right, let's go! Hibine, lead the way!"

The kid blinked. "Me?"

"My glasses are cracked, so I want to be careful of where I'm going," Tashigi explained, gesturing to her glasses. "The rest of you, get behind me. Ro- er, Johnny, you bring up the rear."

"Fine."

"Please follow us, Ghost-san," Tashigi said to the ghost, before the whole group started to hurry down the tunnel.

The journey back to the entrance was much faster than before, helped along by the fact that Zoro had lit several of the torches along the way beforehand. When they reached the stairs, Tashigi slowed down, trying to negotiate running up without jostling Toshi too much. At the sight of this, Zoro, feeling a bit impatient, simply grabbed the kid and hoisted him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and, ignoring Tashigi's protests, sprinted up the stairs, bellowing at the others to follow him.

"R-roro-! I mean, Johnny! What do you think you were doing!" Tashigi exclaimed when she reached the top of the stairs. "You could've made his wound worse!"

"I thought we were supposed to get him to a doctor as fast as we can. You were taking too long," Zoro retorted.

"Hey, um," one of the kids broke in nervously, "um, Lieutenant-chan, doesn't that sound like the monkeys?"

Like they did before discovering Perona's ghost, they fell silent. Now they could all hear them; the cackling, squawking, and screeching of the Humandrills. And judging from the racket they were making, a _lot_ of Humandrills.

"This doesn't sound good," Zoro said, handing Toshi to Tashigi, who returned to giving the kid a piggyback ride. "I'll go up to see what's going on. The rest of you stay here."

"All right," Tashigi agreed, giving him a nod. Zoro found the door and pushed it open, stepping outside and quickly climbing up the jutting stone blocks. Perona's ghost followed him, possibly just as curious as he was.

The sight that greeted him normally would've excited him- and it did- but he also felt an itch of concern for the five people waiting down below.

* * *

Author's note: Here's another chapter up! I intend to finish this- I swear! Please leave any suggestions for improvements if you could! Now, we finally get to more exciting stuff in the next chapter... sorry if the last few chapters seem kind of slow. It's been so slow I was a bit impatient to finish this chapter. So, please please please please please _please_ read and review! I really love it when people leave reviews; I don't care if it's criticism, please share that. I'll update soon, I promise!


	12. Chapter 12: Cutting Steel

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or its characters. They rightfully belong to Eiichiro Oda. The kids and Erika are mine though.

* * *

Chapter 12

Cutting Steel

Shit.

That was all Zoro could think when he saw the huge gathering of monkeys before him. A huge group had gathered, numbering around thirty and all armed with a weapon of some kind. Some took cover in the trees or the bushes, others squatted out in the open, but all of their eyes were directed at one point- the well.

They knew that people had gone down there. And they were waiting for them to come out.

He turned to the hollow that had followed him to the top. "Go and tell Ghost-girl where we are, and see if she could tell the others. Also, be sure to tell her that one of the kids really needs a doctor."

The ghost grinned, dipping its head in a nod, and with a couple more " _Horos_ ," floated out of the well in one direction.

Zoro turned back to the problem at hand, discarding the visor. He was going to need to see clearly for this. Normally, Zoro wouldn't be fazed by such a large group- after all, in his first few days of consciousness on the island, he'd managed to beat an even bigger group before- and that was when he was half-dead. Ever since then, he'd been repeatedly fighting battles with them, and managed to improve his skill so that he would beat them even faster than before.

However, what made the situation worse was that the majority of the troop before him was part of a certain group of Humandrills that had started making thicker armor. Humandrills were quick learners, and not only did they copy other people's skills, they improved on them. Apparently, the monkeys had learned the art of working steel and now headed out to battle in armor that was thicker and covered more. They only started doing this quite recently, just before Tashigi and the others had arrived, and Zoro had only taken on a few, so he hadn't quite developed a new move that could cut through metal with more than one slash, as he did with his Shishi Sonson.

Even with those odds, Zoro still wouldn't be fazed- except for the situation at hand. He could handle this alright if all he had to worry about what himself, but there was Tashigi and four kids still stuck at the bottom of the well, one that needed serious medical attention.

Well, that meant one thing.

"I'll need to cut them all down at once," he muttered to himself, unsheathing his Wado Ichimonji, putting it in his mouth, and unsheathing his other two swords.

"Are you kidding me?" shrilled Tashigi's voice from below. She had climbed up after him. "There's no way that's humanly possible!"

Zoro snorted. If Tashigi had been following the Straw Hat crew, she would know by now that the limits of what was humanly possible were being redefined. And by that, he meant limits that weren't stretched by the Devil Fruits.

"Do you have a better idea?" he retorted, his mouth still full and his voice therefore muffled. "We need to get those kids to a doctor fast, right? We can't wait here until the others find us! That means we have to cut through these baboons as fast as possible!"

"No matter how you look at it, it'll take you too long to beat all of them! And we don't have time!" Tashigi said, pulling herself out of the well and standing beside him. She unsheathed her Shigure and held it in front of her. "I'll help."

"Eh? Do you even know how to cut steel?" Zoro asked indignantly.

Tashigi was about to answer, but suddenly she slashed her sword sideways, and a second later, several crossbow bolts fell to the ground, with only a shallow nick on them to show where the sword had sliced them.

"I'm still learning," she admitted.

"You still haven't learned how to cut through steel?" Zoro snapped, using his sword to deflect some bullets in the process. "You've already learned observation haki; why haven't you learned _that_ yet?"

"I still don't have enough strength!" Tashigi explained indignantly, cutting through the wooden shaft of a javelin.

One Humandrill jumped forward with a sword; Zoro blocked him with his swords and pushed him away. Quickly he sheathed all three swords and removed Wado, sheath and all, from his belt. Then he got into position, moving to hold his favorite sword behind his back, waiting for that moment when he would reach some solid surface.

There-

"Ittoryu Iai… Shishi sonson!"

The next moment he was behind his opponent, who now fell to the ground with a deep bloody slice on his chest.

Sheathing Wado, he looked around. There were still baboons coming for him, but most of the troop was now converging towards the less powerful target.

Zoro scowled.

At the very least, the baboons had the grace to attack Tashigi one-on-one and not all at once- although they had at habit of attacking once before allowing another one of their comrades to try. Zoro ran back to thin the opposition.

In the meantime, Tashigi, surrounded on all sides, struggled to deflect crossbow bolts while holding off two sword-wielding monkeys at the same time. She disarmed one of them, then dove behind that monkey to avoid the crossbow bolts, which punched through the monkey's armor instead, felling him. Tashigi glanced over that monkey to check that he was down for sure, her head shooting up when she heard the other monkey shriek a battle cry at her as he attacked. Tashigi raised her own sword in defense when there was a sudden "OI!"

The monkey turned around, stiffened, then thudded on the ground, a large part of his frontal armor gone with a bleeding gash in its place. Zoro ran past it, unsheathing his sword to deflect more bullets that were coming from behind Tashigi.

"Hey!" Tashigi snapped. "I didn't ask you to help me!"

"I didn't ask for your help either!" Zoro growled back. "Go back down the well!"

"There isn't a lot I can do there!" Tashigi shouted, engaging another one of the monkeys in a sword fight.

"Since you can't cut steel, you're not much help up here, either!" Zoro yelled.

"SO WHAT?!" Tashigi bellowed. Both Zoro and her monkey opponent jumped, seemingly surprised by the sudden burst of noise emanating from her; in that moment, Tashigi disarmed her opponent, leapt up and slashed at the monkey's helmet, popping it off. She then used the sword to swing the helmet, now dangling on her sword, to bean the monkey over the head with it, knocking him out cold.

She turned to Zoro. "Look, back in Alabasta, I was too weak to stop Crocodile and Nico Robin, and they defeated me and all of my men!" She swatted aside some arrows with her sword before continuing. "I swore that I would get stronger so that I wouldn't be put in that sort of situation again! I'm a Marine, and my job is to serve justice and protect people! I can't do nothing when other people need help, especially when my subordinates and comrades need it! I just can't! I'd never forgive myself!"

Her words struck a cord in Zoro. He knew what she meant. And of course she knew that _he_ knew, thanks to that outburst he had several days ago. He knew what it was like when your friends were in danger and there was nothing he could do to help.

"Hey," he muttered over his sword (by now he had all three swords out again), "You want to get stronger, right?"

"Well, of course I do!" Tashigi answered indignantly.

"And you don't seem to mind taking lessons from a bounty hunter. So-" He sent one monkey hurtling away- "you shouldn't mind a lesson from a pirate, right?"

"What are you talking about?" Tashigi said, her tone slightly suspicious.

"Wait." Zoro lifted his swords up sideways until they were all facing the same direction, then twisted around.

"Santouryu…Tatsumaki!"

Moving so fast that he created a cyclone, he managed to send it in the direction of the biggest group of monkeys. Caught in the twister, they all were sent flying far away from the well.

"Why didn't you do that in the first place?" Tashigi wanted to know.

"Because they're pretty resilient. It won't keep them away for long." He sheathed tow of his swords and turned to Tashigi. "I've bought us a little time, so listen up."

"What is it?"

"I'm going to teach you how to cut steel."

Tashigi _gaped_ at him. "Really? Why would you teach something to your enemy?"

"Seriously? Now's not the time for that!" Reaching over to his left bicep, he took off his bandana and handed it to her. "Here. It might be easier for you to learn this if you're blindfolded."

Tashigi frowned. "Blindfolded? What does cutting steel have to do with being blindfolded?"

"Look, it's not about strength," Zoro tried to explain. He winced. "Well, you do need to be strong, but you've got enough strength for it already. But when it comes to cutting steel, there's a little more to it than just strength." He shook the hand holding his bandana. "So… take this. The blindfold will help. Trust me."

Tashigi looked at him warily.

"Well? Go on."

Giving him one last suspicious look, Tashigi finally took the proffered bandana and tied it around her eyes.

"Ok. Now…" he scratched his head. How could he explain this? He usually didn't teach swordplay to others, and when it came to developing his style, a lot of it was intuition and instinct built on the foundation that his sensei gave him.

He tried to remember that time back in Alabasta, when he had first discovered the secret to cutting steel.

"Ok," he repeated. "Listen. Um… you know how to meditate, right?"

"Yes…"

"Ok, just breathe in and out, like you're meditating." He glanced over to the direction where the monkeys were whirled off to. He could see them making their way back, but it a good several hundred yards away. "Now…" he tapped a rock carefully with Wado. "You hear that?"

"That noise you just made?"

"The rhythm. The rock's rhythm."

Tashigi inhaled, as if she were to make an exasperated retort, but she stopped, her forehead furrowing as if she were a little confused.

"Everything has rhythm, you see," Zoro continued. "If you managed to tune into that rhythm, you'll be able to know… um, when to strike."

"How will I know when to strike?" Tashigi asked.

"Um…" Zoro scratched his head again. _How_ did he know? "You just know," he answered lamely.

The baboons were a lot closer now. Some arrows hit the ground several feet away. Zoro tensed, unsheathing his other swords again. Tashigi did as well.

"Roronoa, if this is some sort of trick…" Tashigi warned.

"Believe me, I don't waste my time playing tricks," Zoro retorted. "I'm completely serious."

"But it's so vague!"

"I can't explain it any better." Zoro moved abruptly, deflecting some bullets away. "Trust me on this, Marine girl. It's the only way you can protect those kids. A swordsman should be able to protect what he- er, _she_ wants to protect, and cut what she wants to cut, right?" He wasn't sure what else to tell her, so he felt it was best to tell her what his sensei said. After all, it had helped when he was figuring out how to cut steel…

"What?" Tashigi yelled, deflecting some bullets of her own. The monkeys were only a hundred feet away now…

"In order to be a good swordsman, you have to control when and what you cut!" Zoro yelled back. In that moment, a monkey attacked- there was no time to rotate Wado over his shoulder- the next few seconds were a blur, and the next thing he knew, he was behind the monkey, which now toppled to the ground, a deep slash in his side. Zoro regarded Wado as he finished re-sheathing it. Hm, he didn't have to put the sword behind his shoulder this time, but it seemed that he was able to preform Shishi Sonson even more effectively this time…

Another monkey raced past him. He whirled around and sprinted after him; he was just a foot away when the monkey turned around, and he chose to attack- and in the next moment the monkey fell to the ground, while Zoro slipped Wado back into its sheathe, the same way as the first time. This was interesting-

He sensed another baboon coming up from behind, and turned again to face it, but there was a sharp battle cry and he was surprised raise Shigure and slice downward, cutting open the armor and barely slicing the chest. The baboon screeched in alarm, taking a few steps back, but Tashigi moved forward, slashing viciously, cutting the monkey's armor off and slicing his flesh even deeper every time. Finally, the monkey slumped forward.

Tashigi lifted her blindfold a little to see her handiwork. She frowned. "I cut a monkey, right? But it looks like a bear-"

"It's a monkey, copycat woman," Zoro confirmed.

"What?" Tashigi turned in his direction, scowling. "That's not fair! You're the one who taught me how to cut steel!"

"Yeah." Zoro examined the remains of Tashigi's handiwork. "And it looks like you figured it out just in time, too. I have to say, Marine girl, I'm impressed." He seriously meant that. It was a really blind gamble, hoping that the Marine girl would somehow figure out of how to cut steel in so little time, but it seems like her luck had pulled through. He grinned.

"You- what- oh- ah…" Tashigi stammered, her face turning beet red. She was silent for a couple of seconds before she remembered her manners. "Um… th-thank you."

"Watch out!" Zoro barked, jumping in front of her and blocking the sword of another monkey.

"H-hey! You didn't need to defend me!" Tashigi protested.

Zoro rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you're welcome. You should be more alert on the battlefield!"

"I know that!" Now Tashigi's face was reddening out of embarrassment for her lapse in her guard. Then she paused, as if she were listening. "Another one!" She turned to block another strike from a monkey who cam from behind. Using her sword to push him back, she lowered her sword to the ground and them lifted it in an upward slash. Her first cut split open the armor, while her said second slash cut through the flesh, and the monkey was down. She only had a second before she had to fend off an attack from an axe-wielding monkey. She sliced the axe head off, then cut the axe-handle in half, leaving the monkey with nothing but a block of wood in his hands, which he then tried to throw at her. Tashigi dodged, then, quick as lightning, leapt, slashed sideways through the monkey's armor, then grabbed the monkey by the shoulder and rammed the hilt of the sword into the monkey's helmet. The monkey wobbled as she jumped off him, vulnerable to the noise echoing inside, then promptly fell.

"Um, Lieutanant-chan?" asked a small voice from behind. They both turned. Hibine's head was sticking back out of the well.

She recognized his haki signature. "Hibine, get back down!" Tashigi ordered sharply.

"I-I know, ma'am. It's just… it's Toshi. He really doesn't look good…"

"Just try to get him to hold on for a little longer, ok?" Tashigi told him. "I swear, we'll be finished up here really soon. I promise, ok?"

"Ok, ma'am."

"Now get back down!" Tashigi turned sharply to Zoro, who had finished off the monkey that he had defended Tashigi against and was now battling another. "We need to hurry!"

"No need to tell me twice," Zoro replied. He let loose a flurry of 108-pound cannons, each causing more damage than the last. Tashigi, not willing to be outdone, attacked ferociously, her efforts instantly a lot more improved and successful than before, leaving behind several monkeys in her wake groaning with pain from her deep slashes. Once again, Zoro noticed, Tashigi was a great deal more effective with a blindfold on. he himself was a lot more efficient with his faster Shishi Sonson.

Only a couple of minutes passed before it seemed that they had cut down every monkey in the area. They paused for a few moments to catch their breath, before remembering what they were fighting for.

"The kids!" Tashigi scrambled back to the well. "Hey kids, it's okay to come up now. How's Toshi?"

"He's still breathing," one of the boys responded. There were some scratching noises as the kids started to make their way up out of the well. Tashigi remembered Zoro and nagged him to put the helmet back on, which he did, reluctantly. Just as he did, though, he immediately wanted to take it off- not just because he hated it, but because he had this nagging sensation that the danger wasn't over just yet.

Unfortunately, that instinct was right. Just when everyone was out of the well, Tashigi suddenly snatched an arrow out of the air that appeared to be heading for Maeko's face. Zoro fired off a flying air attack in the direction of the arrow's origin, which was successful, if the sound a falling tree and the surprised squawk of the monkey perching in it was anything to go by.

" _More_ coming?!" Tashigi exclaimed.

"Seems like it," Zoro replied, frowning. He stretched the range of his observation haki further. There were twenty of them… no, twenty-five…wait, was that-?

"You all need to get out of here, fast," Zoro growled, unsheathing all of his swords again. "The king is coming."

"The king?"

"The Humandrills' king. He's really strong," said Zoro, trying to figure out whether he should take the helmet off right now or later so he could put Wado in his mouth. "He fights like Mihawk."

Tashigi actually paled at that. "The baboon king fights like Mihawk? Then there's no time to waste- we'd better hurry now, Roronoa!"

"You go with the kids, I'll hang back and fight them off," Zoro said.

"Don't be stupid! We just fought off more than thirty steel-armor-wearing baboons! You won't have enough energy to deal with around twenty-five more monkeys _and_ their king!"

Shit, so she could sense all of those other monkeys too, huh? "Oh please. That was just a warm-up. I'm more than ready to deal with the next wave of baboons." Even as he said it, Zoro thought that the cocky retort sounded stupid.

"Now's not the time to fight! I'll have my hands full carrying Toshi, and what if more monkeys attack me along the trail?"

Zoro cursed under his breath. She was right there. "Ok, fine," he said, turning towards her. "Where do we go?"

Tashigi opened her mouth, then groaned. "Oh no, where was the castle again? Wait- Perona's ghost- where's Perona's ghost?"

"I sent it to tell that Ghost-girl what was going on," Zoro said, now wishing he hadn't. How long ago was that? Come to think of it, why hadn't anyone come to help yet? He _really_ hoped that Perona hadn't decided to ignore the ghost out of spite or something. That girl was so moody.

The ground started to shake rhythmically, as if something big was approaching. Several monkeys crashed through the trees into the clearing where the well was, instantly speeding up the decision-making process. Zoro readied himself to fight. "Look, just pick a direction and go, Tashigi! Don't worry about me, I'll bring up the rear."

"Ok, fine," Tashigi said, hoisting Toshi onto her back. "But you'd better follow, Roronoa!"

"Fine, fine, I promise, okay?" Zoro snapped back. "Just go!"

"Ok, fine. Come on, kids!" Tashigi started running off in one direction, the kids running after her. Zoro was about to follow, fending off arrows, crossbow bolts and bullets, but stopped when a huge form crashed into the clearing, holding a giant sword that resembled a smaller, more familiar version, except this one didn't have the black blade. The bearer of the sword was another Humandrill, but this one huge, perhaps twice a big as the other Humandrills, and wore something of a coronet on its head instead of a helmet.

Oh shit. The baboon king.

"ZORO!" screamed Tashigi's voice. "COME ON! HURRY!"

Zoro scowled. He couldn't stand the thought of running away from a fight, especially when it was against this bastard of all opponents.

"ZORO!"

Zoro was about to lift his swords, prepared to fight, when something white behind the baboon king caught his eye. He squinted, trying to get a better look, and realized that there was a white wall, higher than the treetops, that was rapidly approaching.

The monkeys screeched and squawked in fear, no longer concerned about the fight, but now eager to get out of the way of the strange white thing encroaching on them, several running past Zoro without even trying to take a swing at him. Only Zoro and the baboon king didn't flee, although the baboon king was clearly perturbed by the phenomenon. Instead of running, the baboon king tried to slash at the stuff, but instead the white stuff enclosed around him. Zoro heard the baboon king cough and gasp for air.

He stepped forward and sent off a 108-pound cannon at the white wall. It didn't really have much effect, other than dispersing some of the white stuff. Then a part of the wall emerged stretched and hovered over Zoro, like some kind of wave, and dipped down directly for him. Zoro raised his swords in defense, and in the next moment, found himself lifting off the ground and flying through the air backwards, dragged in some way by something gripping the back of his collar. Then he noticed the smell of nasty cigars.

"Dammit, Straw-hat," growled a familiar voice. "I can't believe I find myself dragging your sorry ass out of another mess. _Again_!"

Never in a million years did Zoro imagine that he would be happy to hear Commodore Smoker's voice. He sure has hell wouldn't admit it, so he settled for retorting, "You call letting us get away last time 'dragging our sorry asses out of a mess?'"

"Shut up or I'll drop you."

"Smoker-san! Smoker-san!" Zoro looked down and saw Tashigi waving her sword (now sheathed) wildly in the air.

Smoker, who by this time had already passed Tashigi, now doubled back, dumping Zoro ungracefully to the ground near the kids in the process. "What is it, Lieutenant?"

"Please, Toshi needs urgent medical assistance!" Tashigi said, Toshi now in her arms. She lifted him higher to Smoker. "It might be best if you take him back to the ship so the doctor can treat him."

Smoker nodded. "Good idea, Tashigi. But what about the monkeys?"

"I'll take care of them," came another voice. The three adults looked up and saw Erika running up from behind Smoker's head, one of Perona's hollows by her side. "Smoker, you're taking that kid back to the ship? Ah, I see, he looks bad. You'd better hurry." She turned her focus to Zoro and Tashigi. "You two will be taking the rest of the kids to castle, since it's closer. Perona's hollow here will guide you there. I'll take care of the monkeys here. After that, Tashigi and Smoker can escort the rest of the kids back to the ship."

"Are you sure about that?" asked Tashigi anxiously. "I mean, Z- er, the baboon king is supposed to be able to fight like Mihawk-san!"

"Oh yes," replied Erika, looking as if her birthday had come early. "I've been wanting to fight against that one for ages. Just never found a reason to come here…" she realized she was getting off track and cleared her throat. "Smoker! What are you waiting around for! That kid needs help now!"

"But, Smoker-san-," Tashigi began.

"Just do what Erika says, Tashigi. Run like hell for the castle. And that's an order!" Smoker barked, before taking off at high speed in the same direction that Erika came in.

A loud, angry growl rumbled behind them, and everyone turned to see that the baboon king had recovered from being enveloped in Smoker's smoke earlier, and was now even more pissed off than usual. It raised sword high, and started to run towards them in an attack.

"I'll hold him back. Just run, you guys! Run!" ordered Erika, unsheathing her blades and running towards the baboon king.

Tossing his pride aside, Zoro picked up two of the kids, Tashigi the third, and they ran like hell.

* * *

Author's note: Ugh, I am so sorry that I kept you waiting! I'm out of school now, so I have plenty of time to finish this story. I promise I'll get this thing done soon. Just a few more chapters. Please Read and Review!


	13. Chapter 13: Back At the Castle

Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda. I do not own One Piece or its characters; just the ones I made up for this story.

* * *

Chapter 13

Back at the Castle

Once Zoro and Tashigi had trudged into the castle's front hall, marine kids in tow, they simply collapsed. Even the kids, who hadn't run as much, also collapsed. For what seemed like a long time, everyone simply lay there and stared at the ceiling.

Zoro felt unbearably hot under the helmet, and yanked it off, identity be damned. He was so grateful to feel he castle's cool air against his hot skin, but that moment of relief was interrupted by Tashigi, who was now sitting up and somehow still managed to find the air in her lungs to yell at him to put it back on.

"Oh, forget it," he groaned, not even deigning to heave himself up to talk to her face-to-face. "It's too damn hot."

"But Z- but R- but-," Tashigi stammered, having apparently forgotten the fake name they had given Zoro back in those underground tunnels.

"Um, Lieutenant-chan?" Maeko interrupted. "Um, he's Roronoa Zoro, right? The swordsman from the Straw Hat crew, right?"

Tashigi groaned and covered her face with one hand. "I told you," she hissed to Zoro.

"Actually, I figured it out before he took the helmet off," protested Maeko, sounding as if she were a little offended that her superior thought that she wouldn't be able to figure that he was Zoro without him taking his helmet off. "I mean, back in the forest, you called to him by name. That's when I figured it out."

"Yeah, me too," Hibine chimed in.

"Same here," added Sasuke.

"Heh, so it's not my fault, copycat woman," Zoro chuckled. "Quick to point the finger, as usual."

"Oh, knock it off!" Tashigi retorted. "And stop calling me that! My name is Tashigi, you know! And I know that you know it because you called me by name back in the forest too!"

"Did not!" Zoro replied indignantly.

"Did too!"

"Yeah, you totally did," Hibine piped up. "I heard you say it."

"Me too," said Maeko. "He totally said her name."

"Yeah, I heard him say it too," Sasuke agreed.

"Oh come on! Tell me when exactly I called her by name!" Zoro demanded, now getting flustered. He wasn't sure why he cared about this anyway.

"It was when you were telling her to run away with us," Sasuke answered.

"Yeah, you said something like, 'Pick a direction and go, Tashigi!'" Hibine added.

"And if you think I misheard it, you're wrong," Maeko said. "I can read lips. You definitely were saying her name."

Now Zoro groaned, feeling as if every time the kids verified Tashigi's claim, it added another weight to his head. _Hmmm, did I say her name?_ He wondered to himself, closing his eyes and putting a fist on his forehead. He thought back…

Oh, right, it was just when the ground was starting to shake, as if something huge was coming, and several monkeys barged in. that's when he turned to her and said, "Pick a direction and go, Tashigi!"

 _Huh, so I did say her name_ , he realized. He felt a little embarrassed, though he didn't know why. _Ugh! It hardly matters anyway; so what if I did?_

That was when he opened his eyes and glanced over to Tashigi and the kids, who were all staring at him expectantly. Something about it pissed him off.

"Agh, whatever," he grumbled, rolling onto his side away from them. "I don't remember, and I don't care anyway."

"Huh, he really doesn't remember, huh?" remarked Hibine.

"Well, a lot of stuff was going on at the time, so I guess it makes sense," Sasuke pointed out.

"Oh, please, you two, he _totally_ remembers," proclaimed Maeko, who sounded like she was trying not to laugh. "I saw him blushing before he turned away. He _definitely_ remembers."

"Huh, really?" asked Hibine.

"But if that is the case, then why did he say that he didn't remember?" Sasuke wanted to know.

"Oh come on, isn't it obvious? He likes her but he doesn't want to show it!" Maeko explained gleefully.

"EEEEEHHHHH?!" Zoro and Tashigi yelled at the same time, Zoro bolting upward.

"Whatever the hell gave you that dumb idea?" Zoro barked, his face beet red. In all honesty, he would be blushing regardless of whether the claim was true or not; it was embarrassing no matter how you looked at it. "Me, like her? Get real, you idiots!"

"Hey! Don't talk to them like that!" Tashigi yelled back defensively.

"Oh, shut up, Marine girl!"

"Be quiet yourself, Roronoa!"

Suddenly, Zoro got a sick, freezing feeling in his body. A white shape suddenly appearing in front of his face confirmed his fears. Oh no…

Zoro fell to the ground on his hands and knees. "I'm lower than dung," he moaned, depressed.

"I'm not worthy of this life… I should've been born a microbe…" he heard Tashigi's voice whimper. So, Perona's Hollows got to her, too.

Once the Hollow-induced bout of depression wore off, he jerked his head upward. "Hey! What the hell was that for, you witch?!"

"Be quiet, you!" Perona snapped back, floating overheard. "Or else I'll give you another one! You were all being too noisy!"

"Why would that matter? There's barely anyone living in this castle to begin with!" Zoro argued.

"I warned you! Negative Hollow!"

"…I'm lower than a flea…"

Perona turned her attention to the marine kids. "Hmph, so these are the Marine brats huh? Ugh, they're so filthy and dirty! So _un-cute_!"

"Hey!" Maeko protested, insulted.

"Huh, so this Onee-san also lives in the castle?" Hibine remarked.

"Wait a second, you guys," Sasuke said, "this castle… doesn't the Shichibukai "Hawkeyes" Mihawk live here?"

"That would be correct," a deep voice said dryly. Everyone jumped and turned to a doorway on their right, where Mihawk leaned against the frame, wineglass in hand, as usual.

The children trembled violently, as if earthquakes were taking place in their bodies. "Haw- hawkeyesss…Mi-hee-hee-hawk…" one of them stuttered.

"Hmph. So, you made it back," Mihawk said, strolling into the hall. He glanced at the children, then at Zoro. "Although, it seems that they managed to figure out your identity after all, Roronoa."

Zoro scowled, feeling grumpier after being hit by two Hollows in quick succession, and retorted, "You don't seem surprised."

"Well, of course not," Mihawk replied coolly. "You Straw Hat pirates are too loud and conspicuous to be capable of hiding your identities." He ignored Zoro's responding irritated grunt and eyed the children again. "I thought there were four children missing?"

"One of them was badly injured, and Smoker-san is now taking him back to the ship for emergency treatment. He'll come back for the others soon," Tashigi explained.

"Hmmm. I see. Where's Erika?"

"She helped us get away by holding back some monkeys that found us."

"Ah, is that so?"

"Yes, sir. One of them was the Humandrill king. I hate to inconvenience you, but couldn't you go help her?"

Mihawk snorted. "She's perfectly capable of handling it herself. I wouldn't be too concerned, Marine girl. She should be back soon. In the meantime," he continued, glancing at the children for the third time, "it seems that we have a problem regarding the children's knowledge of Roronoa's presence here." The children all shuddered again.

"Um, Dracule Mihawk-sama, sir?" Sasuke croaked, still apparently terrified. "What is Roronoa Zoro doing here, anyway?"

"That is none of your business," Mihawk replied, turning on his Hawkglare of Death. "He is here under my protection, in any case, so whether the Marines know that he's here or not, they can't arrest him. But I'd rather they not know; I have no patience for the Marines' questions or interference. So," he continued, directing at each child in turn a glare that seemed to penetrate their very souls, "if any Marines _do_ come here asking annoying questions, I suppose I know that at least one of you talked. Therefore, I trust you'll keep your mouths shut…if you know what's good for you. Besides, considering that Roronoa here helped save your necks, it's the least you could do, isn't it."

"Y-y-yes, Lord Mihawk-sama, sir," the children squeaked.

In the silence following, another sound caught everyone's attention. "Pu-ru-pu-ru-pu-ru. Pu-ru-pu-ru-pu-ru."

"The marine's den-den mushi!" Tashigi exclaimed, getting to her feet and running to the dining room. Everyone else followed.

Tashigi answered the marine-issued den-den mushi hastily. "Hello?"

The den-den mushi's face settled into a familiar scowl. "Tashigi?" asked Smoker's voice. "It seems that you made it back."

"Smoker-san! Did you reach the ship? Is Toshi okay?"

"It seems that I got him back in time. He's receiving a blood transfusion now. But the doctor said that tending to the wound on his leg was going to take some delicate work, and since the water is calm now, he ordered us to drop anchor so he could take care of it properly, without interference."

"Oh, that's a relief."

"We're on the other side of the island right now. The ship was circling it in search for the kids. After the doctor's done, we'll sail until we're closer to the docks, and then we'll let down a dingy to come and collect the other kids. With the fog, it's too easy to get lost if we let a dingy down here. Are the others safe?"

"Yes sir, all three of them are here."

"Excellent. I'll see you in a few hours, Tashigi. I'll stay on the ship to make sure everything's in order."

"Yes, Smoker-san." The Den-den mushi promptly went back to sleep. Tashigi put down the receiver. "Well, it looks like the kids will have to stay here for a little while longer. I'm sorry to impose, um…Mihawk-sama."

"Hmph." Mihawk sipped some of his wine. "Do as you please. Just keep them out of the wine cellar and the library." He turned to Perona. "Ghost-girl, show them to the bath and take care of their injuries."

"Eeeeeeh?! Why me?!" Perona screeched in protest. "That stupid swordsman and the marine girl should help them just fine!"

"Just do it, Ghost-girl," Mihawk said as he left the room.

"Argh! Don't tell me what to do!" Perona shouted after him.

"Um, Perona Onee-san?" asked Maeko nervously. "Do you have any clean clothes? I mean, there's no point in taking a bath if the clothes I'm putting on again are still dirty."

"Well, you'll just have to put up with it!" Perona snapped, floating in closer and getting in the girl's face. "After all, it's your fault you-." Suddenly, she paused, as if thinking. Then very slowly, a creepy smile grew on her face. "Hmm. Clothes, you say? I've just had the most brilliant idea!"

 _Uh oh_ , Zoro thought, guessing what Perona might be thinking.

Maeko, it appeared, seemed to have the same feeling. "Um, well, actually, I don't want to trouble you-"

"What? Trouble me? Of course not!" Perona laughed and grabbed Maeko's arm. Zoro was surprised; since when did Perona decide to levitate her own body? " _Horohorohoro!_ Come along now, I'll show to the bathroom, and when you're all done, I'll make you all cute!" She turned to the boys. "Come on, you two! Do you want me to take care of your wounds or not?"

Both boys seemed (very, very understandably) apprehensive. They turned to look back at Tashigi and Zoro.

Zoro sighed and scratched his head. "You'd better do as she says. The alternative is much, much worse, I promise you." He indicated some of Perona's Hollows, which were still lurking around, to make his point.

The boys got the message, but still followed behind Perona very reluctantly.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Tashigi muttered.

* * *

Author's note: Sorry for making you wait over a week, but at least it wasn't months. The next chapter is almost done. Please read and review!


	14. Chapter 14: You're Different from Her

**Sorry (Ashamed face). I don't know what took so long to put up this chapter. Thanks to all my followers who are stuck with me! I really want to finish the story, and I have a vague image of how I want it to end, but am a little stuck when it comes to hashing out the details. I decided to get the ball rolling again by publishing this chapter. I solemnly swear to finish this within the next two weeks.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except the marine kids and Erika. They belong to Eiichiro Oda.**

* * *

Chapter 14

You're Different from Her

After showering, changing clothes, putting on her spare pair of glasses, and treating several cuts and gashes here and there, Tashigi headed back downstairs. She was intending to make her way to the den-den mushi in the dining room and contact Smoker to check up on Toshi's condition, but stopped in the front hall at the sight of Zoro.

He hadn't cleaned himself up yet, but was cleaning his swords. She glanced at them. Currently he was tending to his Wado Ichimonji, while the other two lay out beside him. Kitetsu caught her eye and a shiver ran down that back. So, he still had the cursed sword, and was still alive. And the other sword…Tashigi squinted. There seemed to be something familiar about it…

"What do you want?" snapped Zoro's voice, as he immediately reached over to his other two swords and re-sheathed them before Tashigi could get a better look.

"Eh?" Tashigi replied, startled. "Did you think I was going to steal it or something?"

"There are few people that I would trust with my swords," Zoro said, "and you're not one of them." His grip tightened possessively on his Wado.

Tashigi was about to say something, thought better of it. "I'm just going to contact Smoker-san and see how Toshi's doing."

Zoro, who at the moment was concentrating his attention on a particularly tough blemish on Wado, only made a detached grunt in acknowledgement. Tashigi returned to her quest for the den-den mushi.

After making her call to Smoker, she returned to the front hall. "Smoker-san said that Toshi's well out of danger now, and his surgery should be finishing soon."

"That's good news," Zoro replied, still focused on his Wado. "When do you think the ship will return to pick up the others?"

"In at least half an hour."

Zoro grunted again in reply. Tashigi, finding Zoro not in a mood to have a conversation, leaned against the wall, then started to pace the length of the front hall, before stopping and asking, "Has Erika-sensei returned yet?"

"I haven't seen her."

"She's been gone for quite a while."

"Don't worry, Mihawk says that she can take on that monkey king."

"Yes, well…" Tashigi resumed her pacing.

"Will you stop that?" Zoro demanded irritated. "Why don't take a nap, instead of worrying about it?"

"Nap? At a time like this?" Tashigi asked incredulously.

"Well, why don't you clean your sword, then? Better check it for nicks; after all, you were cutting steel for the first time."

He had a good point; after such a huge battle, her sword would need some maintenance. She was about to return to her room to collect her cleaning kit when Zoro said, "If you need to clean your sword, I have all the stuff you need here." He gestured to a small box and a pile of clean rags beside him.

Tashigi frowned. Perhaps this was his way of making a peace offering. She decided to accept it; she really was too tired to deal with more fighting today- verbal or physical.

"Thank you." After collecting what she needed, she sat down opposite him, opened the box, put some polish on a rag and started rubbing the dirt off her sword.

After some vigorous elbow grease, the sword shone like a mirror. Staring at her reflection, she remembered that moment in the underground tunnels, when Roronoa was freaking out because she had fallen down the stairs, just like his dead girlfriend- er, _friend_. He said she looked like her…

"Do I really look like her?" she muttered, not even realizing that she was speaking aloud.

"What?"

She flinched at Zoro's unanticipated response. "I'm sorry, I was talking to myself," she replied.

Zoro returned to tending to his sword, was silent for a beat, then said, "Yeah, you look like her. You also say the same things as her and you're a swordsman, just like her. Both of you are so similar, it's creepy."

"She was a swordsman too?" Tashigi asked. She wasn't sure she had ever heard that part before.

"Yeah. We both trained at the same dojo when I was a kid."

Tashigi digested this for a minute. Then, ever more curious, she asked, "What was she like?"

Zoro smirked. "Were you listening to anything I said? Take a good look at yourself and guess."

Tashigi scowled. "Oh, come on! I may be similar to her, but there's no way that I'm exactly like her!"

"Well, that is true," Zoro admitted. "For one thing, she always kicked my ass."

"You- you don't have to be so insulting!" Tashigi retorted.

"Oh, don't get so worked up about it," Zoro retorted. "I'm telling you the truth. We dueled each other two thousand and one times, but I never won once."

"Eeeeh?" Tashigi gaped at him. Then she recovered her composure. "You've got to be kidding! Not even once?"

"No."

Tashigi was silent for a moment, then asked, "Do you think she would have joined the Marines, or become a pirate like you?"

"I don't know," Zoro replied. He held up his Wado before him, staring at it as if lost in thought. "All that I really know is that she wanted to be the Greatest Swordsman in the World."

"The same as you?"

"Yeah." Zoro glanced over at Tashigi. "The two of us promised to duel for the title."

"Wow," Tashigi sighed, gazing down at her own sword. "Now _I_ wish I was like her."

"Huh?" Zoro frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it would take a lot of guts and determination for her to aim for that," Tashigi said. "She'd have to fight the Greatest Swordsman in the World to for the title, and she'd have to deal with a lot of contenders too. And there would be people who would doubt her all along the way because she's a girl. I don't think I would have the courage to do that."

Zoro stared at her in disbelief. Suddenly, he started to laugh, surprising Tashigi. She watched him, dumbfounded, as he lay his sword on the floor, still chuckling, then started to laugh harder than Tashigi had ever seen him laugh. He was laughing so hard his whole body shook, and his hand covered his eyes, making Tashigi wonder if he was laughing hard enough to cry.

The idea raised her irritation enough to prompt her to protest, "What on earth is so funny? I thought I was paying her a compliment!"

Zoro seemed to hear her, for he made a noticeable effort to calm down. Finally he sat up straight, though he kept breaking into smiles and a few chuckles still leaked out.

"Oh, s-sorry," he stammered, catching his breath. "But you really don't get it."

"What am I supposed to get?" Tashigi demanded.

"Just how different you are," Zoro answered. A few more involuntary chuckles escaped him, before he put on a more serious face. "Kuina- that's her name- Kuina always wanted to be the Greatest Swordsman in the World, but she thought that she couldn't do it because she was a girl."

Tashigi's eyes bulged. "What? But- but- what- how- _did_ she change her mind?"

Zoro smirked with amusement at her reaction. "Well, yeah. I told her being a girl or a boy had nothing to do with it."

"You convinced her?"

"Well, of course I did! I wanted to win against her because I'm the better swordsman, not because I'm a _man_!" Zoro folded his arms. "What would be the point of all the training I did, if that is all that matters? I know I convinced her, since she agreed to duel me for the title." At this he looked down into his lap, his face became hard and grim, as if remembering something painful.

Tashigi could guess what he was thinking. "But she died."

"Yeah. The day after we made our promise."

"The day _after_?" Tashigi was shocked.

Zoro nodded.

Again, Tashigi didn't know what to say. A few minutes of silence stretched between them before she remembered something. "Wait a minute. How does this make her different from me? I mean, you told me that I've said the same things as she did, right?"

"Yeah. You were whining about how men were stronger than women, like she was."

Tashigi bristled at that. "Well? Then how am I different?"

"You don't let that stop you."

Tashigi blinked. "Stop me from doing what?"

Zoro rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. You've joined the Marines. I've beaten you, Crocodile beat you, Robin beat you- but you keep fighting. Why? Why do you keep fighting, when you think that men are stronger than you and you keep losing? I don't know. But whatever it is, you don't let those things keep you from doing what you want. In that way, I think you're stronger than Kuina." He hesitated for a few seconds, then added, "I respect you for that. Well, I have to, because I see the same sort of thing in my crew."

Tashigi's face felt hot. Glancing into the sword's polished surface, she realized that she was _blushing_. Not only that, but she had a warm feeling in her chest.

 _He's so_ nice, she thought to herself, before her more skeptical marine self kicked in.

 _Don't be ridiculous! A moment ago he was casually stating the fact that you can't beat him!_

Another side, the one that distrusted everything that pirates said, added, _He's a pirate. He's just sweet-talking you._

 _But no,_ another voice protested. _No. He wouldn't say that sort of thing about Kuina if he didn't mean it._ She could tell, from what he said, that he had a great deal of admiration for Kuina. To call her, someone who he always beat in a duel, stronger than someone who had consistently beaten him in a duel wasn't something that someone like him could say easily. He got on her nerves, but he didn't lie to her.

He'd paid her a great compliment, and she had to say something back. She lifted her face and turned to him.

His eyes narrowed. _Does he think I'm mad with him?_ Tashigi thought nervously.

But instead, Zoro said, "Are you ok? Your face is all red."

Tashigi covered her face with one hand, struggling to hide her embarrassment. _He really is a nice guy._ Why hadn't she seen it before?

Turning her head away from him to hide her blush, she finally said, "You're a pretty decent person, Roronoa Zoro."

"Eh?" Zoro replied, looking somewhat annoyed. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm a pirate."

"Well, even for a pirate, you're pretty decent. I mean, you and your crew helped out in Alabasta-"

"Getting along, you two?" came Erika's voice.

* * *

 **Author's note: Please Read and Review!**


	15. Chapter 15: Catch Me If You Can

**Author's note: Back a couple of chapters when I said chapter 14 was almost finished, i did finish it later, but then decided to try to finish the rest of the story before putting anything else up so that i wouldn't have to keep people waiting. However that didn't work. when i restarted on this story, chapter 14 was finished and I had completed chapter 15, but got stuck on writer's block near the end of it. I finally managed to finish this chapter, and I hope you guys will find it ok. I hope the characters aren't OOC, or if they are, not _too_ OOC. I may do it over again, but for now I'll post this. The story's still not over, and I'll try to finish it within the week. I would really appreciate your feedback on this chapter! And sorry for taking so long.**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or its characters. They rightfully belong to Eiichiro Oda-Sensei. I own Erika and the Marine kids.**

Chapter 15

Catch Me if You Can

Both of them flinched in surprise; neither of them heard Erika approaching. They looked up and saw Erika coming down some stairs opposite them, and they were immensely puzzled by how she was already _inside_ and why she was coming _down_ the stairs. As she drew nearer, they could see that her face was flushed and sweaty from exercise, and still appeared quite energetic.

"You beat the baboon king?" Zoro asked, sounding both surprised and incredulous at the same time.

"The baboon king? Oh yes, that one. Yes, I certainly did," Erika replied casually.

"But- but he's supposed to know all of Mihawk's moves!" Tashigi protested indigently.

"Knowing is not the same as mastery," Erika pointed out. "He knows the moves, but he's not as skilled or refined in them as Mihawk is. Honestly, he looks pretty clumsy with them in comparison to Mihawk. It's like combining the rawness of Mihawk's twenties with the moves he developed in his thirties. Even so," she went on, with a slight fidgeting bounce in her heels, "that little duel has fired me up for a fight with Mihawk. Do you know where he is?"

"You want to fight him _now_?" Tashigi asked disbelievingly.

"Well, now seems like a good time. After all, we've accomplished what we came here to do."

"We did?" Tashigi seemed even more confused.

However, her teacher was now absorbed with finding Mihawk's current location. "Hm, I wouldn't be surprised if he was in the library…"

"Um, Erika-sensei, what about the children?" Tashigi interrupted.

That got Erika's attention. "What? The children? Aren't they back on the ship?"

"Only Toshi, Erika-sensei. The ship is moored currently so that the doctor could treat him properly, and they're hindered by fog, too. Smoker-san didn't contact you?"

"Hmph, some doctor," Zoro muttered under his breath, thinking that if it were Chopper, he'd have that kid fixed up in no time, and with the ship _moving_ no less.

"Hm." Erika took out her baby den-den mushi and looked it over carefully. "Looks like the machinery is broken. I'll call him now and see how things are coming along."

She returned to them after making a call to the ship. "The surgery was over by the time I called," she said. "The fog's burning off too. You'd best get ready to escort the children there. Speaking of which, where are they?"

Tashigi and Zoro stared at her.

At that moment, there was a crash coming from the floor above, as if a door had been flung open forcefully enough to bang against the wall. Next came the sounds of running footsteps, and three cries of "HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLP!"

All three swordsmen reflexively reached for the swords on their belts, their blades half out of their sheaths, then froze as they stared in bewilderment at the sight before them.

The three kids were running, first into the second floor hallway and, once they saw Zoro, Tashigi and Erika on the floor below, practically flew down the stairs to the ground floor, where the others were. They were covered in bandages- a lot of unnecessary bandages, since their injuries were less concerning than Toshi's. Hibine wore a purple sweater, a blue bow tie, and green-plaid pants, with bandages covering his wrists. He kept tripping over something, and it wasn't until he was down the stairs that the others realized that there was huge, bushy squirrel tail attached to his pants dragging on the floor. Sasuke wore a dark blue suit with a white shirt and a red cravat. Some bandages unnecessarily wrapped around his dark head over one eye and some were used to keep what looked like fake dog ears- the long, flappy kind- in place. Maeko had a black eye patch, except it wasn't over one eye but pushed to one side of her head. She wore an extra frilly black and pink lolita dress that a little long for her, as she was holding it up as she ran, showing unnecessarily bandaged legs. All three of them were barefoot, but that didn't stop their desperate attempt to escape Perona, who floated behind them, horo-horo-horo-ing and carrying several items, including a yellow scarf and beret; a cat-ear headband and a pair of gloves that looked like paws; and a large fake mustache.

Zoro winced. It had been several months, but he still hadn't forgotten when she had turned him into a replacement for her zombie bear servant through a liberal amount of bandages.

Once the trio of kids was down the stairs, they each huddled behind one of the swordsmen; Maeko ducked behind Tashigi, Hibine darted behind Zoro, and Sasuke chose Erika.

"You have to stop her!" cried Hibine, grabbing at Zoro's clothes. "I can't take it anymore!"

"Oh, stop whining," Perona demanded, her cheeks puffed out in a pout. "It's so un-cute!"

"I'm not gonna to wear that hat and scarf!" Hibine fired back. "I hate yellow!"

"Calm down, calm down," Erika ordered, raising her voice over the hubbub. When the others grew quiet, she turned to Perona. "What's going on? I don't remember their injuries being this bad."

Perona scowled. "They look cuter with more bandages, that's all."

"She had an army of zombie animal servants when she worked for Gekko Moriah," Zoro explained. When the other two swordsmen looked at him, he shrugged and said, "My crew met up with them before. Her zombie servants all had bandages on them."

"Well, I guess that explains that," Erika remarked. "Still, Perona, surely after a few months of looking after this guy-," she jerked her thumb over her shoulder to Zoro- "you'd realize that using up those bandages in such a frivolous manner would be wasteful?"

Perona's cheeks puffed out even more in a pout, then turned to show her back to the others. "Fine," she grumbled, "I'll admit that I was a little wasteful with the bandages." Her body whipped around again. "But still! You three should be thanking me, you know! I went to the trouble of treating your injuries, making your baths and getting you clothes!"

"Yes, but you didn't let us choose them! I didn't want a squirrel tail, and I kept telling you that I don't like yellow, and you got me that cap and scarf anyway!" retorted Hibine.

"I don't the pink or frills so much, but I definitely don't want to be wearing those stupid cat gloves!" added Maeko.

"I said no to these dog ears too!" added Sasuke. "And why do you keep ordering me to put on that fake moustache when I told you that I already have a moustache?"

Maeko glanced over at Sasuke. "Three hairs on your upper lip doesn't really count at a moustache, Sasuke."

Sasuke scowled at her. "Why are you agreeing with _her_?"

"I am _not_! And anyway, I told you this _before_!"

"ENOUGH!" Erika bellowed. Everyone, even Perona, jumped a little. Erika had never been this loud before. She turned to Perona. "Perona, you didn't have to get such fancy clothes for them. Or accessories."

"But they would've looked cute!" Perona whined.

"Yes, but there wouldn't be much point," Erika insisted. "They were due to return to the ship soon and get new uniforms there."

Perona "Hmphed" at this.

Erika turned to look at the kids. "Now, I know you don't like the clothes, but she did go to the trouble of treating your injuries and making you baths. How about you say 'thank you' for that?"

The kids looked like they were about to protest, but then they realized who was talking to them and made of show of grudging resignation. Stepping out from behind their protectors, they formed at line. Looking at the ground, they mumbled, "Thank you, Perona Onee-san."

Perona did not look satisfied. "Thank you, _Mistress Perona_ ," she corrected.

The kids glanced at Erika, all with the unspoken question of whether they actually had to do this. Erika only raised an eyebrow. Their faces looked disgusted before they mumbled, "Thank you, Mistress Perona." The last two words

They spat the last two words with great sarcasm, but Perona didn't seem to notice. Apparently satisfied, she said, "Hm! That's better!" and let out a string of horo-horo-horos.

Noticing that Perona was softening up, Erika said, "Now Perona, there are few favors I'd like you to do for me."

Immediately Perona put on another look of outrage, but Erika said quickly, "Now, don't get so worked up about it. Just listen to what I have to say. First, I'd like you to help the kids find some clothes, and let them pick what they want. Second," she continued, raising her voice a little when Perona opened her mouth to protest the unfairness of it all, "second, I'd like you to tell me where Mihawk is. If you do these two things for me, then _maybe_ I'll _consider_ persuading Mihawk to let you have a servant. Can you do that for me?"

Perona seemed to relax a little at the mention of a servant, but she still seemed a little undecided. "A servant? Hmmm." She thought for a moment, then said, "Ok, fine! Mihawk's in the study. Come along, you ungrateful brats!"

As the kids went up the stairs even more cautious and reluctant that before, Tashigi turned to Erika. "I don't understand you. Why did you make the kids thank Perona? If anything, she owes them an apology!"

"I know it seems unfair," Erika replied, "but getting people like her to say sorry when she's like that would have taken all day. Best to make her happy now so that she'd be in a better mood to apologize later."

Tashigi's face clearly said that she accepted this argument, but was not happy with it. Seeing this, Erika said, "Tashigi, I expect you to return to the ship with the kids. Go and get your things ready."

At this, Tashigi was surprised. "What? You mean our training here is over now?"

"I thought you were going to stay a few more days…" Zoro said without thinking.

"I did tell you that I wanted to fight Mihawk today," Erika reminded them, "and I promised him that I would give him a fight at the end of our time here. Now's a good time- the monkeys are tired out, so they're less likely to get in our way. Although, they usually flee whenever we have a duel, which is another good reason for us to duel now, because the monkeys would be too distracted by our duel to focus on you. And on that note," she turned to Zoro, "Zoro, please accompany Tashigi and the kids to the docks. I'm quite certain that the monkeys would stay out of the way while Mihawk and I are fighting, but you never know. Once there, make sure the Marines in the dinghy don't see you. We can't let more people in on this secret than necessary. After the dinghy goes back to the ship, return to the castle and stay in there until the fight's over."

"No way," Zoro objected, folding his arms. "You most be crazy to think I'd just turn my back on a fight between the Greatest Swordsman in the World and the second Greatest Swordsman in the World."

"Why are you complaining?" Tashigi demanded. "At least you could see the fight at the castle! Why do I have to stay at the ship?"

Turning to look at her, Zoro noticed that Tashigi had the same starry look in her eyes that she had whenever she was geeking out over swords.

"I intend to fight at my best against Mihawk, and it would be easier if I didn't have my student in the way," Erika explained.

"Fight at your best?" rumbled a deep voice behind her. Everyone turned to see Mihawk standing in the doorway to the dining room. "You're fresh from a fight against the baboon king."

"Well, yeah, but that was just a warm-up," said Erika, giving a predatory grin and gripping her blades. "Don't tell me that you don't feel like fighting me now when you've been itching to fight me all week."

Mihawk quirked a smile in return. "I'll admit to that. I'm interested in seeing what new trick you have up your sleeve. You usually do."

"Who's to say I'm not interested either?" Erika replied, her hands tightening on her swords with excitement. "It's been two years. Fighting against that baboon king reminded me how much I wanted to face against your newer tricks rather than all that old stuff that the baboon king had."

Zoro repressed the urge to roll his eyes. He wished that Robin could be here, if only to make a blunt statement about the obvious sexual tension between these two.

Just then, the three kids came downstairs in clothes that were a lot more toned down than the ones they wore earlier. The boys wore white t-shirts; Sasuke had green cargo pants on while Hibine wore blue jeans. Maeko wore a blue polka-dotted blouse with a pair of blue shorts. All three wore clean socks and their marine shoes. Zoro didn't spend much time wondering where they got such modern-looking clothes in such an archaic castle.

Perona came up from behind, pouting, as the clothes were clearly not her taste, but lightened up when she saw Erika and Mihawk. "Did you talk to him about it yet?"

"What is she talking about?" asked Mihawk.

But Erika ignored his question. "Not yet. There's just one more thing."

"One more favor?" Perona folded her arms. "Only if you promise me two servants."

"That might be hard to bargain for," Erika replied. "How about I promise to send you a stuffed animal instead?"

Perona frowned. "What's the favor?"

"Apologize to the kids for forcing them to wear clothes they didn't want," Erika told her.

Perona scrunched up her face in annoyance, but gave in. "Ok, fine." She turned to the kids. "I'm sorry." The apology moved out of her mouth reluctantly.

The kids, who seemed to be in a happier mood, obligingly bowed their heads and said, "Thank you, Mistress Perona," with a lot more sincerity than before. This cheered her up immensely, to the point where she twirled upward through the air laughing.

* * *

Once everyone was ready to go, the party moved out the castle's front door, where Erika said, "Alright. Mihawk and I will start our fight, and you five start making your way to the docks."

"What are your terms?" asked Mihawk, stepping a few paces away and unsheathing Yoru from his back.

"The usual, of course," Erika replied, stepping back a few paces and settling her hands on her swords. "To the death."

The party of five had started to reluctantly make their way down the path, but they all whirled around when they heard this. " _What?!_ " Zoro and Tashigi chimed together.

"What are you guys doing? Keep moving!" Erika snapped.

"But- but- Erika-sensei…" Tashigi stuttered.

"Don't worry about me," said Erika, smiling confidently. "I'll survive. Although, here's a condition for if you do survive, Mihawk," she said, turning her attention to her opponent, "if you survive, you must, on your honor, grant my last wish that you get Perona a servant."

Mihawk narrowed her eyes at her, clearly annoyed at this request. "A strange request, but I'll accept it."

"Any last requests from you?"

Mihawk smirked. "No need."

"Oh, you…" Quicker than lighting, Erika unsheathed her swords pulling them straight up and flinging her arms behind her in the process, releasing a double flying slash attack that tore the ground in front of Mihawk to pieces as it headed for him.

Unfazed, Mihawk simply made a long diagonal flying slash attack with his own sword, quickly dissipating them.

"I truly hope that wasn't one of your newer tricks," he drawled, "because it looked like an old one to me."

Suddenly he lifted the sword over his head vertically to parry an attack from Erika who was falling right above, turning her swords and throwing her arms forward as she fell to make double vertical cuts. The force of parry made Erika jump back with a wild grin on her face. "Now, who shows their trump card in their first set of hands? We're just getting started!"

"Indeed." Mihawk attacked, releasing a flying slash attack. Instead of parrying it, Erika simply leapt out of the way, allowing the attack to carve its way straight through the trees behind her.

The sight and sounds of hundreds of trees falling was enough to snap Zoro and Tashigi back into reality, so transfixed were they by the incredible fight before them.

Tashigi responded first. "Roronoa!" she yelled, tugging on his sleeve. "We have to go! I've seen Mihawk fight in the War of the Best- we have to get out of here to avoid the collateral damage!"

Zoro didn't respond. Again, Tashigi tugged on his sleeve.

"Zoro!" she cried desperately.

Zoro suddenly scowled. "That bastard," he growled, "he's still leagues ahead of me."

"This isn't the time to think about that now! We need to go!"

Zoro finally snapped back to himself. "Fine," he said, reluctantly turning toward the path. The party finally started to make its way towards the docks, but every now and then, Zoro would look over his shoulder at the battle. It didn't take long for him to realize that Tashigi was doing the same thing. Her face was a mixture of anxiety and curiosity.

"Focus on the front," he told her. "If you keep looking back like me, you'll slow us down."

Tashigi looked at him disdainfully. "Speak for yourself."

"I'm just checking for monkeys."

"Liar. You were looking at the fight."

"Well, to be honest, so were you!" Zoro pointed out.

Tashigi huffed at that, but said nothing. After couple of feet down the path, Zoro said, "Stop worrying about it. You should have more faith in your teacher."

"Really? What about you? Your teacher is fighting too," Tashigi retorted.

Zoro chuckled. "Oh, I know he'll win."

Tashigi groaned. "In that case, why did you even bother to reassure me? Stop!" she blocked Zoro's way with her arm. They had reached the docks, and the Marines' dinghy was in clear view to everyone.

"That was quick," Zoro muttered to himself.

"Well, it's certainly quicker when you're not getting lost in the woods," Tashigi said waspishly.

"I did _not_ get-"

Zoro's retort was cut off by a loud "Ooooooiiiiiiii!" from the people in the dinghy.

Without prompting, Zoro quickly darted behind a tree.

"Zoro?" more than one child's voice inquired. "Where did he go?"

"He had to hide. Our dinghy is close enough for the people on board to see him," Tashigi's voice replied.

"Aww, I wanted to thank him for everything," Hibine's voice said disappointedly.

"Me too. I wanted to say goodbye to him," added Maeko.

"THANK YOU MR. ZO- ER, JOHNNY! IT'S BEEN REAL NICE MEETING YOU!" shouted Sasuke's voice.

"YEAH! THANK YOU! GOOD LUCK WITH EVERYTHING!" Hibine yelled.

"Idiot, he's a pirate! Marines like us can't wish him luck!" Tashigi scolded.

"I THINK YOU'RE REALLY NICE! I HOPE WE MEET AGAIN SOMEDAY!" shouted Maeko, ignoring her.

"Who are you shouting to?" asked a new voice. Zoro supposed it was one of the Marines. He didn't move, not sure that the Marines wouldn't see him.

"Oh, just this guy who guided us to the docks. He left before we could say goodbye," Sasuke replied.

"Come to think of it, he didn't say goodbye to you either," Maeko said, "and you've spent the most time with him."

The reply to that remark was drowned out in a deafening roar of several trees falling down. Zoro decided this was a good time to head back to the castle, when the Marines' attentions were likely to be occupied by the noise. He made a swift retreat back to the castle.

Or, he had intended to make a swift retreat to the castle, but he was finding that the way back to be a lot longer than the way to the docks. With some of his attention on the battle and some of it focused on keeping a lookout for the monkeys, he almost didn't notice the presence behind him. The moment he detected it, he spun around, hand on the hilt of Wado, ready to draw it out.

It was Tashigi, breathless after running to catch up with him.

"What on earth are you doing?!" Zoro demanded, relaxing his stance. "Weren't you supposed to be on the dinghy back to your ship?"

"I stayed behind," Tashigi gasped. "I told the men that Erika-sensei was in a duel with Mihawk, and needed me to contact the ship if she obtains any serious injuries."

Zoro had been taking a breath to object to her excuse, but now he exhaled it in a rush. Scratching his head, he said, "That's actually not a bad excuse."

"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Tashigi, irritated. "Besides, you need someone to guide you back to the castle. There's no way you can go straight back there."

Zoro folded his arms. "You just want to see the fight, don't you?"

"Were you listening to me?"

"I don't get lost!"

"Would you stop denying it? Come on." Tashigi grabbed his arm and led him away in the complete opposite direction.

Within five minutes, they were back at the castle. Instead of staying inside, however, the two decided to get a closer look at the battle by climbing on the outer walls. They quickly managed to pick out the location of the fight by the huge dust cloud in the distance.

"Can you see anything?" asked Tashigi.

"The dust makes it hard to see. I don't think they're in close combat. C'mon, let's see if we could get closer." Zoro jumped down on the other side of the wall, Tashigi only a second behind him.

"Do you think they'll really kill each other?" Tashigi wondered as they moved through the brush.

Zoro grunted. "I'm not sure. Erika did say it was 'the usual', so I think they fight to kill every time they duel."

"But if that's the case, how are either of them still alive?"

"Luck."

A high pitched whistling sound sang through the air, and the next thing they knew, all the trees in front of them were falling over towards them.

"Look out!" Tashigi cried, instinctively leaping backwards. Zoro, however, stayed put and brought out all three of his swords to create of whirlwind of slashes and cuts, chopping the trees falling towards them to pieces, until the thuds of surrounding falling trees shook the ground enough to throw him into the air. A huge cloud of dust arose as a result.

Once the tree avalanche came to a standstill, Tashigi ran over to where she last saw Zoro. "Roronoa? Are you alright? Where are you?" she called.

She heard a groan. "Over here, Marine girl."

She found Zoro sitting up between two trees, brushing leaves, twigs and bark off his clothes and rubbing dust out of his eyes.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Zoro replied with a cough. "What about you, Marine girl?"

"I'm fine too." Tashigi looked around, and noticed that Zoro's Wado Ichimonji lay a few yards away from him. "Oh! Your sword!" Tashigi went and retrieved it, handing it over to Zoro.

"Thanks," Zoro grunted as he clasped the sword. As Tashigi released it, he stopped. "Wait. You're not going to steal it?"

"Steal it?" Tashigi squawked, surprised. She recovered herself. To be honest, she _had_ told him in the past that she would confiscate his sword. "I wouldn't steal someone's sword! I'd take it from them if I beat them in a duel, or if they gave it to me willingly, but I wouldn't sneak around and steal it! How could I call myself a swordsman if I lowered myself to do something so dishonorable?"

Considering that Zoro had seen the Marines do some pretty shady things in the past, like allow pirates to control Nami's home island, Zoro wouldn't have put it past Marines to try to steal his swords. Still, as he observed Tashigi's angry glare…

"Sorry," he grunted.

"W-what?" Tashigi sputtered.

"You're right. You're not that kind of person. Anyway…" He turned around. "A person who would to try to steal my swords would be the sort of person who realized that they couldn't beat me, which is something that you haven't accepted."

One part of Tashigi would have agreed, but another part was quicker to rise in anger to another perceived insult. "Are you trying to make me angry?"

"Face it, Marine girl, it's true."

"So what?! Whether you're better than me or not, do you think that's going to stop me? She took a step towards him, pointing her finger. "Listen, Roronoa Zoro. You're… an amazing swordsman. A honorable one too. But you're still a pirate and I'm still a Marine, so don't think anything changes! I'm still going to beat you one day! And I'll take your Wado Ichimonji too!"

Zoro gaped at her, then chuckled. Really, this woman was something.

"What?" Tashigi wanted to know, feeling a little embarrassed.

Zoro let loose another chuckle and grinned. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Huh?" Tashigi's finger wavered.

"I look forward to it," Zoro said, walking past her. As he did so he added, softly, "Catch me if you can."

A shiver ran down Tashigi's back, one which she wasn't sure whether it came from fear or… something else. She scowled, swiveling around look at Zoro's retreating back.

"H-hey!" she yelled lamely, then realized something. "Roronoa, you're going-!"

Her call was cut off as something suddenly hit her on the head from behind.

Zoro noticed the sudden silence, and turned around to see what had happened. As he did so, he grunted as something also hit him hard on the back of the head, knocking him out.

* * *

"Honestly," Erika grumbled as she watched the swordsman fall to the ground with a large lump rising out of his head. "I told them to stay out of the way. What is it with kids these days?" She looked up to see Mihawk, who had appeared next to Tashigi. "Sorry, Mihawk. I know it seems underhanded. It's not honorable to sneak up from behind and knock him out."

"Considering your intentions, I wouldn't hold it against you," Mihawk replied as he walked over to study his student on the ground. "You never revert to something underhanded unless you feel like you have to. And considering these two hard-headed morons, there was probably no other way to get them out of the way without wasting more time." He observed the lump forming on Zoro's head. "And I must admit that it's pretty impressive you were able to knock him out. This idiot's skull is denser than anything."

"Really? I was a bit worried, but it looks like he'll be ok. Anyway," said Erika, walking over to Tashigi and slinging her over one shoulder, "let's take them back to the castle and finish our fight."

* * *

 **Please read and review!**


	16. Chapter 16: See You in the New World

**Author's note: Okay, this is the second to last chapter of the story. the next will be the epilogue. Maybe I'll write a sequel, but i think i'll watch how the manga plays out first.**

 **By the way, I forgot to mention this, but sorry that I'm not showing little to no detail of the fight between Mihawk and Erika. I don't know much about Mihawk's moves, and I'm not sure he showed all of them at the war, and I'd like to stay true to his fighting style. Maybe I'll write it when Zoro and Mihawk have that inevetible battle...**

 **Anyway, please enjoy!**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: One Piece and its characters do not belong to me, they belong rightfully to Eiichiro Oda-sensei.**

* * *

Chapter 16

See You In The New World

Zoro groaned. His head was _killing_ him. How much did he have to drink last night? He couldn't remember a headache like this since the last time the witch drank him under the table…

His eyes fluttered open. He squinted. Everything seemed fuzzy. He rubbed his eyes. Now everything seemed sharper, but still a little hazy. After rubbing them a few more times and looking around, he realized that the haziness was in part due to the fog drifting around them. Looking down, he found himself lying on the rubble of a stone wall. _Where am I?_

He groaned again, heaved himself upright, and looked to his right. About a foot or two away lay a woman wearing a fuzzy purple jacket and pink glasses, with a green-handled sword by her side. Her face… it was familiar…

Zoro jolted when everything came back to him, causing him to grab his head. Of course- Tashigi- Kuraigana Island- Mihawk- That woman, Erika- Smoker- Kids- monkeys-

"The duel!" he gasped. What time was it? When did he fall asleep?

A groan rose up beside him. "Owww," moaned Tashigi, clutching her head. "Ow, what happened?" She sat up as well.

"Marine girl?" Zoro said automatically. Then, rather tentatively, "Tashigi?"

"Eh?" Tashigi looked over to him, lifting her glasses to rub her eyes, then adjusted them back. "Ah- Roronoa Zoro!" She grabbed her sword and prepared to draw it, but stopped, realization dawning in her eyes. "Oh. Oh, right. You- the training-" she looked around frantically. "Where's Erika-sensei?...Oh! The duel! Do you know what happened?"

"I don't know. The last thing I remember was…" he groaned again, once again clutching his head as he tried to remember. "Uh… oh right. We were talking and then…you screamed or something?"

"Screamed?" Tashigi grimaced. "Uh…I don't know. I remember talking to you, then the next is all blackness."

"Yeah, me too."

Tashigi peered at him. "You have a pretty big lump on your head."

"So do you. I guess we were both knocked out." Zoro scowled. Not again!

"But who did it? And where are we?" Tashigi looked up and around. She struggled to her feet, and used her sword as a crutch for a few paces. Turning around, she looked up, and a confused expression settled on her face. "It looked like we're right outside the castle."

"We are?" Zoro asked, also getting to his feet and moving close to her position. Looking up, he realized she was right. The broken wall was right outside the castle.

"So, we were knocked out and taken here," he theorized. "But who…?"

"Never mind that now," Tashigi said, starting towards the woods rather anxiously, "what about the duel?"

"Listen," Zoro ordered.

"Hm?" Tashigi stopped for a moment and cocked her head. After a couple of seconds, she said, "It's quiet."

"Yeah."

A five-second silence stretched between them when Tashigi suddenly exclaimed, "It's quiet! Does that mean… the duel is over?"

"Only one way to find out," said Zoro, now starting for the woods.

Tashigi grabbed his arm. "Hold on," she ordered.

"What?"

"They were going all over the place. We don't know where they are now. We'd better go into the castle and look around from above."

"Oh? Ok."

After going back into the castle and finding their way to the top of the tallest tower, the two started searching around them. Tashigi pressed her binoculars to her glasses hard, as if doing so would make the search easier.

"There," she said suddenly, pointing. "That white figure…" She gave a little gasp and made for the door leading downstairs.

"What is it?" Zoro asked.

"She looks really bad. She may need medical care now! I'm going to contact Smoker to send a medical squad."

"What about Mihawk? Did you see him? Here, give those to me." He grabbed the binoculars.

Tashigi was too busy checking her pockets to comment on his rudeness. Pulling out the baby Den-Den mushi, she was about to press the button and speak when she remembered. "Aaagh! I forgot! This one's broken!" She turned to Zoro. "I'm going to go downstairs to contact Smoker with the Den-Den mushi down there."

"Ok, I'll see you down there then," Zoro replied, still looking around through the binoculars.

"Oh, no. You're coming with me," Tashigi declared, reaching for his arm. She had almost grabbed it when Zoro leaned forward.

"There!" he exclaimed, pointing.

"What?" Distracted, Tashigi propped back her glasses, peering in Zoro's direction.

"He's propped up against that tree…" Zoro turned to the side. "Looks like Erika isn't far from him. They're close to the…" he squinted. "Looks like that tree in the shape of a cross."

"A tree in the shape of a..." Tashigi shook her head. "Never mind. How does he look?"  
To Zoro's experienced eyes, he could see that his teacher seemed to be in pretty bad shape. "Tch. He'd better not be dead; I still haven't had a rematch since that first time."

"Dead? Did you say he was dead?" Tashigi asked, a little anxiously.

"I honestly can't tell," Zoro replied. "But guys like him don't die easily. Neither do people like Erika, either," he added.

"Regardless of that, we'd better go now. We'd better bring a first aid kit too, in case they have any wounds that need immediate treatment."

"Hm." Zoro held his chin. "I'll ask Ghost-girl to come with us. She's bandaged me up a lot, so she should be able to help in this situation."

"That is, if she feels inclined to do so," Tashigi said, opening the door to the stairs.

"She should be," Zoro replied, following her. "After all, Mihawk's presence is what keeps the monkeys in check."

"The monkeys." Tashigi stopped. "Wait- what if they start getting in the way again now the duel's over?"

"Hm." Zoro frowned. "Now that the Baboon king is defeated, they should be lying low. But if there are still some stupid enough to attack, then I'll take care of them."

 _He must be tired after all the things that happened today,_ Tashigi thought as she went down the stairs, _but he still keeps going. No wonder people think of him as a monster_.

 _She must be tired, but she keeps going,_ Zoro thought to himself. He quirked a smile. _Not that I would expect anything different from her though._

* * *

As Zoro predicted, convincing Perona was easier than Tashigi had thought, though it took a little longer than necessary.

"Eh? Mihawk may be hurt?" Perona inquired, hovering just above them.

"Yes. We're going to need your help if he has any serious injuries," Tashigi said.

"No way!" Perona refused, turning her back. "That awful man treats me as nothing more than a servant! 'Ghost-girl, bandage him up,' 'Ghost-girl, bring me some wine,' 'Ghost-girl, clean this up.' Honestly, who does he think he is, having the nerve to order me around? Treating a cute girl like me as if I were some ordinary maid!"

 _You do the same things too, you know_ , Zoro and Tashigi thought at the same time.

Aloud, Zoro said, "You do realize that if Mihawk's dead, the monkeys may not be afraid to approach the castle anymore, right?"

Perona stiffened at that comment. After a short silence, she groaned. "Oh, ok, fine. I'll go with you. Wait here while I go get the medical supplies."

* * *

Zoro was accustomed to seeing the fallout of huge fight, but even he felt some measure of shock at the extant of the damage to the area. If the area around the giant wooden cross was in ruins before, it looked absolutely devastated by now, as if Marines had attacked the place with cannon balls.

Erika came into view first. She lay face-down, unmoving, on the ground, her right leg at an odd angle, her clothes torn and stained with blood in several places, her hair undone and all askew, as if a hurricane had blown through; and small bloodstains was splattered on the ground around her. One of her swords was stuck in the ground in front of her, while her other sword lay away a few feet from her right, both looking a little battered and dirty after a hard fight.

Looking up from her, Zoro saw Mihawk, sitting up propped against the tree. From a distance away, his clothes appeared more tattered, but not as much blood, though considering that Mihawk was wearing his red coat that it would have been less obvious. His hat leaned over his face, as if he were simply napping against the tree. One leg was drawn up to his chest while his arms dangled limply at the sides. Yoru lay beside him, coated with dust and speckled with blood.

"I wonder who won?" Zoro remarked.

Tashigi glared at him. "Forget that! I just hope they're still alive!" She hurried over to Erika's side. "Erika-sensei! Erika-sensei! Can you hear me?" She peered closely at her mentor. "She's still breathing! Quick, Perona-san, over here! Roronoa, you go check on Mihawk-sama."

Zoro walked over to Mihawk reluctantly. Going over to see whether his sworn rival was dead or not when he hadn't even fought him was a weird feeling, one that he knew would turn to disappointment at the very least if the man actually turned out to be dead. He knew that both Erika and Mihawk were strong swordsmen who were stronger than him, but seeing your rival defeated before you could defeat was…unsettling. Thinking about it, it reminded him strongly of Kuina's death…

He probably shouldn't have worried. When he was within three feet of the man, Mihawk's head lifted, and a piercing yellow glare struck Zoro.

"Ah, Roronoa," grunted Mihawk.

"Oh, Mihawk-sama is alive too?" Tashigi said from behind Zoro. "That's good. You'd better give him a hand, Roronoa."

"No need," Mihawk said. He shifted his body so he would sit up straighter. "I'm fine."

"Don't believe him," croaked a hoarse voice. Zoro turned to see Erika weakly lifting her head, her face covered with dirt and a long trail of blood crossing her face through the center. "I know I…got him good in some places." She smirked evilly. "He should be unable to use his arms at the moment."

"What?" Everyone gaped in shock at this statement.

"Don't worry, they're just numb. He'll be able to use them again," Erika wheezed.

"I can use them now," Mihawk declared, lifting one up. "Ghost-girl, give me a roll of bandages. I can treat myself."

"I'd keep an eye on him if I were you, Perona," Erika said. "This…idiot has a habit of hiding his injuries."

Mihawk directed his glare to Erika. "I would rather that you avoid sharing things like that to my rival and a Marine."

"What? _I_ know about them, and yet _I_ have never used them against you, have I? And these two are more honorable than I am."

"They're monsters, alright," Zoro remarked. "To fight a battle that causes this much damage and these kinds of injuries, and yet these two are still able to talk like this."

"Speak for yourself, monster!" Perona hissed as he handed a roll of bandages to Mihawk.

"Anyway," Zoro turned to Mihawk again, "who won?"

"He did," said Erika.

"It was a tie," Mihawk said at the same time.

Erika glared at him. "What? I fell before you did."

"But by then you had numbed my arms to the point that I couldn't use them, so I couldn't take advantage of the fact."

"What?" Tashigi exclaimed.

"This woman has a new trick up her sleeve," Mihawk explained. "The way she blocked and attacked with her sword created a jarring effect that, applied over and over over time, causes the arms to go numb. The sword jars all the time when it's struck, or when it strikes something. Usually the swordsman becomes accustomed to this; his grip strengthens and he builds muscle to absorb the shocks. however, it seems that Erika has discovered that striking the sword in a certain way with a certain amount of power can little by little wear down on the ability for the muscle to absorb those shocks and still move."

"Only temporarily though," Erika replied with a confident, if slightly bloody, smile. "It would be criminal to permanently damage a gifted swordsman. But that aside, you're telling my secrets now for revenge, Mihawk?"

"As if I'm that petty."

 _So says the man who goes after people for waking them up from his nap!_ Zoro and Tashigi thought.

"I'm explaining it so that this idiot would be aware of it when he has to fight you again," Mihawk explained, jerking his head towards Zoro. "He's a pretty instinctive swordsman, but your technique is so subtle that it wouldn't surprise me if he caught himself in your trap before he realized it."

"Oi!" Zoro snapped.

"In any case," Mihawk went on, "By the time you tell, my arms were too numb to move, so it's a draw."

"Don't give me that," Erika retorted. "You still could've used your kogatana and your teeth!"

The two started arguing back and forth about it, while the others watched in disbelief.

 _She's really tough,_ Tashigi thought. _From what I can tell, she has multiple broken bones and she seems to have damaged some organs, but she still manages to argue with him._

 _These two are total monsters,_ Perona thought.

 _This seems vaguely familiar..._ Zoro thought to himself. It took him back to those early days, back to that dinosaur hunt on Little Garden...nah, he was probably imagining it.

Tashigi turned to Zoro. "Roronoa, I'm going go to the docks to meet up with the medical squad. They'll need to know where to go."

"Bringing more marines on the island, Tashigi?" demanded Erika, distracted from her banter.

"It can't be helped, Erika-Sensei. You appear to have some serious wounds, including a bad broken leg!"

Erika groaned, but it sounded more like one of frustration than one of pain.

"You can bring them here," Mihawk told Tashigi. "By the time you get here, the three of us would have left."

"But what about the monkeys?" asked Zoro.

"They should be quiet for now," Mihawk replied. "I'd be surprised if we saw hide or tail of them in the next few hours after the duel we just had."

"No kidding," Erika rasped in agreement. "I'm sure they're all huddled in caves or trees somewhere."

"I don't know about that. Something knocked out me and Roronoa before, when you were having your duel," Tashigi pointed out, crossing her arms.

"Oh, that was me," Erika said bluntly.

"That was you?!" Zoro yelled.

"What? I told you I didn't want you or Tashigi around to get in the way! How am I supposed to cut loose if I'm worried about who's nearby? I'm sure you tell your friends- or in Tashigi's case, your men- to go ahead when you get into a fight for the same reason, don't you?"

Zoro looked a bit sheepish at that. Tashigi, however, didn't seem quite as embarrassed.

"Well, in that case, I better get going. They've probably already arrived at the docks." She turned to Zoro. "Since it would be in your best interest to be gone, along with Mihawk-sama and Perona-san by the time I come back, I suppose this will be the best time to say goodbye." She bowed low to Zoro. "I have learned a great deal from our time together. It has been an honor to work with you, Roro…Zoro. San." She added the last part as if she at least wanted to still maintain some distance.

"Oi, oi," grumbled Zoro, feeling embarrassed. "There's no need for you to be bowing to me like that."

"Yes, but you did so much," insisted Tashigi. "It's the least I could do. That, and keep your presence here a secret…"

"Yeah, yeah. There's no need for you to do any more for me," Zoro said dismissively, his face flushing a little.

"Well…if you insist," Tashigi said reluctantly. She turned to bow to Mihawk. "It has been an honor to work with you, Mihawk-sama. Thank you so much for your guidance and hospitality for allowing me and Smoker-san to stay here."

"It's fine. You'd better get going, Lieutenant," Mihawk grunted in reply.

"Ok. Thank you too, Perona-san!" she said giving a quick bow to Perona before turning and running down the path away.

"What? That's it?!" exclaimed Perona.

"She's always been polite, but I think she's grown a little," Erika sighed, before allowing her face to fall in the dirt.

Zoro stared at Tashigi's retreating back, and before he knew what he was doing, he found himself running after her.

"Wait," he called.

"What?" As Tashigi turned to face him, she found herself drawing Shigure out of her sheath to block a strike from Zoro, who was using his Wado.

"What was that for, Roronoa?" she cried, confused. "This is no time for a duel!"

Zoro withdrew his sword. "You sure about that?"

Tashigi scowled. "Of course it is! Erika-sensei needs medical help now!"

"Hm." Zoro sheathed his sword and rested his arm on the hilts of his swords. "Then I suppose the next time we meet will be in the New World. Think you can handle it?"

Tashigi hesitated, remembering her complete and devastating loss to Nico Robin and her failure to stop Crocodile. But then she remembered all the skills she had learned from Erika and Zoro, and all the important things that Mihawk had taught her.

She looked up at him, a determined glint in her eyes. "Of course I can. No- I must."

Zoro cracked a small smile at that.

"And what about you?" she asked, a little aggressively.

Back when he had first arrived at the island, Zoro would have admitted, albeit reluctantly, that he and his friends were in no way ready for the New World, not after dealing with Bartholomew Kuma, Admiral Kizaru, Sentomaru and the Pacifistas. But in spite of that…

"Naturally." Zoro's grin grew a little bigger. He turned around and started back towards Erika and Mihawk. "I'll be waiting for you in the New World. I hope I won't be disappointed."

Tashigi scowled at his retreating back. At that moment, Zoro turned his head and gave her another grin. "Although, I don't think I will be…Tashigi."

Tashigi started at the mention of her name, smiled, then called back to him, "You'd better not disappoint me either, Roronoa Zoro! Prove to me that you're still worthy of your Wado Ichimonji!"

Zoro chuckled a bit at that, and was surprised to feel a warm glow in his chest when she said that. He usually didn't care about whether people approved of him or not, but the fact that Tashigi had, inadvertently, said that he was worthy of his Wado felt…kind of nice, actually.

"Oi, Marine girl, aren't you supposed to be getting that medical squad?" barked Mihawk.

Tashigi jumped with an "Oh!", turned around and ran off.

* * *

 **Please R and R!**


	17. Epilogue

**Author's note: This is the last chapter of She's Not Kuina. I know that it ends on an open-ended note, but I was intending for that since the beginning. I sincerely apologize to readers who wanted it to end differently. This is why I wrote "Possible Zoro/Tashigi pairing" in the summary- at first I wasn't sure if it would develop into something like that, but, as I said at the beginning, I did want to write a story in which they learned more about each other and developed more respect for each other. I also decided to hint that they were developing stronger feelings as well, but decided to end the story here. I also decided to share some of the feelings that Mihawk and Erika have about their relationship that complicates things for them- and it could complicate things for Zoro and Tashigi, but who knows? Perhaps it'll take a different route. Like I said, perhaps I'll write a sequel and go into their _LOVE_. Or, if you have any ideas, or would like to write a sequel, please feel free to send me suggestions or tell me.**

 **Also, I apologize if the characters seemed OOC in the last few chapters, particularly Mihawk.**

 **I have enjoyed writing this story so much thanks you all of you! Thanks you guys! Especially those who reviewed! Please feel free to continue review so I'd know what you'd think!**

 **~elovejapan**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or its characters. They rightfully belong to Eiichiro Oda-sensei.**

* * *

Epilogue

"Ah," said Rayleigh, sipping his drink and noting the shadow on the wall. "You're the first to arrive."

"What? Nobody's arrived yet?" came Zoro's voice. "They never change."

"But you have, apparently," said another voice.

Rayleigh, Shakky and Zoro all turned to look at the new speaker.

The voice belonged to a woman, wearing a baggy, long-sleeved shirt and baggy pants, all in black, with black boots with short tops to match. From the top of her head sprouted a long braid that ended at the middle of her stomach. She had snapping black eyes and an almond shaped face, but Zoro was most struck by the scar that tore across it: one that started above her left eyebrow, crossed the bridge of her nose, cut through her right cheek and ended a little ways away from the right corner of her mouth, all in a clean, straight line.

It was due to this scar that Zoro did not recognize her at first.

"I'll be honest, I was expecting you to arrive last," she remarked, holding up her own drink. "I know that you're quite devoted to your captain, but I don't think that would extend to correcting your directional sense. And I know Mihawk well enough to know that he doesn't excel in fixing one's directional sense either. So, I suppose Perona guided you here?"

Zoro stared. "Uh, who are you again?" he asked, scratching his head.

"Eh? Don't tell me you've forgotten who I am! It's me, you know, me!" the woman exclaimed, jabbing a finger at her face.

"Eh? Roronoa, you've met Erika before?" Rayleigh asked a still-flummoxed Zoro.

"Ah? Erika?" Zoro scratched his head again before jumping back. "Eeeeeeeeeeh?! What are you doing here?!"

"How rude. To see you off, of course! I was interested to see what the other members of the crew were like," Erika explained. Noting the wary look on his face, she added, "No, I'm not interested in capturing them. They're not the kind of pirates I tend to hunt down." She thumped the seat next to her. "Come now, sit down and stay awhile."

After hesitating a moment, Zoro decided to believe what she was saying and took a seat beside her, asking Shakky to bring him a cup of booze.

"Uh, sorry," he said. "But I really didn't recognize you. When did you get that scar on your face?"

"Oh, this?" said Erika, tracing it absentmindedly. "Got it back in that duel with Mihawk a year or so ago. You know, the one you were present for?"

"Eh?" Zoro replied.

"Yeah, some dirt got in it and caused an infection, so it will never be able to completely disappear," Erika explained.

"That's a pity. They say that men don't go for scarred women," remarked Shakky as she delivered Zoro's drink to their table.

"Meh, such men are losers," said Erika, flapping a hand airily. "I'm better off without them."

"How old are you again?" Zoro asked.

Erika smashed his head into the table, giving him a big lump on his head. "DON'T ASK A WOMAN HER AGE!" she snapped, a vein throbbing on her head. After taking a sip of her drink, she added calmly, "But since you asked, I'm thirty-nine."

"What did you attack me for if you were going to tell me all along?" Zoro croaked as he lifted his head from the table, a throbbing vein also appearing on his head. He started to gulp down his drink.

Erika peered at him. "In any case, it looks like I got off lightly in comparison to you." She nodded towards his eye. "That scarred eye of yours."

Zoro set his tankard down with a thud, gasping. "Another!" he demanded, holding up his tankard. Shakky came around with a pitcher.

"So," said Zoro, studying his drink, "how do you know about this place?"

"I come here all the time. Saobody is a gathering place for pirates- a place that's ripe for finding higher bounties. I usually like to tackle some of the more violent ones here. But Rayleigh's not on my list. And Shakky is the number one information source around. Occasionally she'll tell me where the more troublesome bounties are. For example there is- what did you tell me, Shakky-chan? Was his name- Demaro Black?"

"Huh." Zoro sipped his drink. "Since you're here, I'd guess that Smoker and Tashigi are around here too?"

"Wrong," Erika told him.

"Eh?"

"Tashigi left my tutelage long ago. She's in the New World now with Smoker."

Zoro nearly spat out his drink. "What?"

"Yep. Smoker was put in charge of the Marines at the base G-5 there. He's a Vice Admiral now, and Tashigi is now a Captain. They've grown quite a bit in the past two years."

Zoro scowled. "Damn! And I told her I'd be the one waiting in the New World!"

Erika smiled. "You like her, don't you?"

Zoro nearly spat his drink out again. "What? Don't be ridiculous!"

"Well, I don't blame you. She is pretty tough, determined, and works hard. I'd say she's the sort you'd respect as a partner."

"Don't say crazy things!" Zoro protested. "First of all, I'm a pirate and she's a Marine."

"So?" Erika jabbed a finger towards Shakky. "Luffy's grandfather Garp used to chase Shakky around when she was a pirate."

"Oi, please don't put disturbing images in my head, granny."

Erika smashed his face into the table again. "Thirty-nine is nowhere near old enough to be called granny," she said coolly, yet she once again had a throbbing vein sticking out on her head.

"Then why are you so sensitive?" Zoro grumbled as another lump grew on top of his first one.

Watching them, Rayleigh, sweatdropping, muttered to his wife, "Has he really gotten stronger?"

"Obviously, yes, but she has too," replied Shakky, also sweatdropping. In a louder voice, she added, "Also, there's you and Mihawk, Erika."

Erika turned red at that. "Oi, what are you saying Shakky-chan!"

"Oh, don't be so shy about it. It's always so obvious," Shakky insisted.

"I wouldn't doubt her if I were you. She's surprisingly insightful about such things," Rayleigh said, pointing a finger to his wife.

"Tch. Married couples always think they know everything about love," muttered Erika.

"Oi, don't you complain after you say the same things about me!" Zoro snapped.

"Well, I suppose I can understand your feelings about the situation, Zoro," Erika continued, propping her head on her elbows on the table. "When you have a good rival that you're attracted to, you're not sure you want to fall in love with them because it would change your perspective on the relationship. You wouldn't be able to interact with that person in the same way, and therefore you will not experience the person that you fell in love with." She smiled. "Love could be found anywhere, but a rival like that is rare."

Zoro was silent, staring at his tankard. When he realized that Erika had gone silent and that his own silence might be interpreted as agreement, he quickly said, "Ah- again, I don't have those sorts of feelings for her!"

"So, that's how you feel about Mihawk," Shakky remarked. "I always wondered. Is this why you two always challenge each other to a fight to the death?"

"Well, yeah. When we agree to commit ourselves to a fight like that, it's the best way to know that we're not holding back on each other," Erika replied.

 _So that's it,_ Zoro thought to himself.

"Still," he went on, noting her scar, "how could you like him if he fights you so mercilessly?"

"I like him for the swordsman he is. And he has demonstrated respect for the swordsman I am. I like that relationship." Erika sipped her own drink. "It would be weird if that changed. But if you were interested in another side of Tashigi, then don't be afraid to look for it."

"Stop giving me advice on things that don't exist!" Zoro bellowed, reddening with embarrassment.

-Meanwhile-

"What?" Shanks cried, turning around with a huge smile on his face. "Luffy and his crew are coming back together?"

"Mm," Mihawk commented with a nod.

"I knew it! I knew Luffy wouldn't stay away for long! Oiiiiii, everybody!" he shouted to everyone on the island. "Oiiii! Listen up everyone! Luffy's coming back!"

"Eh?"

"He is?!"

"Yep!" Shanks grinned. "And you know what that means!"

"PARTY!" everyone shouted, and there was an immediate scramble for the booze.

"Well, I'll be going now," Mihawk said, turning to leave, but Shanks grabbed his shoulder.

"Hold on!" Sit down and stay awhile! Since you brought this news to us, you gotta stay and celebrate!"

Mihawk glared at his frenemy in obvious yellow-eyed displeasure, but Shanks chose to ignore this and shoved a wine cup into his hand. "Go on! Drink, drink!"

Mihawk sighed and complied.

A while later, the men were all drunk, dancing and making fools of themselves, although Mihawk still remained remarkably sober. At this point some of the men had started talking about what women they would have at the party, and they soon turned Mihawk.

"So, Hawkeyes, if you wanted a woman to be here, who would it be?" Shanks asked, shaking him by his shoulder.

"As if I would ever bring a woman to this kind of thing," Mihawk muttered.

"Aw, c'mon, don't say that!" said Shanks, shaking him even harder. "C'mon, Hawkeyes, you'd like Erika to be here, wouldn't you?"

Mihawk grimaced at this and shrugged him off so hard that Shanks fell over backwards, spilling his drink on his face in the process. The men howled with laughter at the sight of their captain making such a disgrace of himself, and Shanks himself pulled himself up, laughing along with them as he tried to wipe his face clean with a his sleeve.

"Seriously, though, Hawkeyes," Shanks continued, once the laughter died down. "Why don't you two get together? She seems like the best woman to be your partner."

"She is a rival who I respect. It is that person that I…like." He said the last part under his breath. "If our relationship were to change, I would be unable to interact with her as that person, and that is not something that I'd care to lose."

"Hm." Shanks was quite for a few minutes, as if seriously contemplating this, before throwing an arm around Mihawk's shoulder. "Awww, so you do like her!"

"Oh, shut up."

-Weeks Later, in the lab at Punk Hazard-

"I warned you!" Zoro yelled as he swung his sword towards one Marine. The blade jarred as it clashed with another sword just as well made as it was.

"C-Captain-chan?" gasped one of the Marines watching.

Zoro looked up and grinned. Finally. Now they finally met.

Tashigi's face was a rock, but inside she was excited, yet conflicted. She knew what she must do here.

"So, the little copycat has made it to captain?" He really wanted to start a duel with her, but now wasn't the time or place. "But you're not really looking for a fight." He knew her sword well enough to know that.

Tashigi's eyes widened in surprise, but accepted it. She lifted her sword off of his, and as he passed by, he said softly, "Fight you later, though."

Landing on the ground, she said loudly, "No, please go on ahead." As the other pirates rushed past her, she muttered under breath, "Fight you later too."

* * *

 **Author's note: some of the content in the top third and bottom third were taken from actual episodes. the top third came from episode 517, and the bottom third came from episode 605.**


End file.
